>Based on Friday and Saturday box office (and estimated Sunday numbers), The Help continues at #1 yet again, down only 2% from last week. This is really getting to be a tired headline, but with the feeble crop of recent releases The Help is just taking full advantage of the situation. The weekend overall is now looking like it will be even with this weekend last year.
The fourth week decline for The Help (-2%) is almost unprecedented, and the other declines for the holdovers were lower than normal because of the Irene-impacted weekend last week.
September 2-4, 2011 Wknd vs Showbuzz
(millions) Studio Last Domestic
Proj. Wknd Final*
The Help (Dis/DW) $14.2 – 2% $155+
The Debt (Focus) $ 9.7 $ 37
Apollo 18 (Wein) $ 8.7 $ 19
Shark Night 3D (Rel) $ 8.6 $ 18
Colombiana (Sony) $ 7.4 -29% $ 40
Rise of Planet of Apes (Fox) $ 7.8 -12% $181
Our Idiot Brother (Wein) $ 5.2 -26% $ 30
Don’t Be Afraid Dark (FilmDis) $ 4.9 -42% $ 26
Spy Kids 4 (Wein) $ 4.6 -23% $ 36
The Smurfs (Sony) $ 4.0 -16% $143
Note: The table above summarizes the weekend as of Sunday. The first column (on which the table is sorted) displays the “studio projection” for each film, based on the Friday and Saturday actual numbers (and a studio-supplied estimate of Sunday). The second column is the percent decline from the prior weekend. The final column is a preliminary estimate of the ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Total Gross for the film’s complete run in North America. A “++” indicates the Domestic number has been upgraded; a “–” indicates a downgrade.
Limited Releases
Opening this weekend on the indie circuit (partial results to come): — Seven Days in Utopia (drama) averaged a soft $2,203 at 561 theaters
— Saving Private Perez (foreign) averaged $4,161 at 161 theaters
— A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (comedy) at 143 theaters
— Bodyguard (foreign) at 89 theaters
— Bol (drama) at 38 theaters
— Love Crime (foreign) at 5 theaters
— Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (foreign) at 3 theaters
Total Box Office Volume
The Top 12 Films this weekend are looking like $81 million total, flat versus the same calendar weekend last year when The American, Machete and Going the Distance opened.
Top 12 Films: Weekend #35 Volume (millions)
2011 $ 81 (+16% vs 2007-10 average; -0% vs 2010)
2007-10
Avg $ 69 Movies Opening That Weekend
2010 $ 81 The American $13, Machete $11, Going Distance $7
2009 $ 81 All About Steve $11, Gamer $9, Extract $4
2008 $ 50 Bangkok Dangerous $8
2007 $ 65 3:10 to Yuma $14, Shoot ‘Em Up $6
Next Weekend
Opening next week are Contagion from Warner Brothers, Warrior from Lionsgate, and Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star from Sony. Those movies will be compared to Resident Evil: Afterlife ($27 million opening weekend).
In case you missed them, click to see this week’s Weekend Predictions and Update. International numbers will be posted as soon as possible, and Monday we will have official numbers for the Friday-Sunday domestic grosses.
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