Information obtained via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:
In a packed week of new releases both large and small, "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" held the #1 spot at the weekend box office, holding off a strong Sunday push from "The Help" to retain its box office crown. Other debuts involving teenagers dying, young adults trying to survive a bomb being strapped to one of them, and a 3-D concert movie for one of television's most popular shows all met with mediocre and/or disappointing responses.
"Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" held its ground, winning the weekend with $27.8 million at final count. Most science-fiction films slide between 55-60% in its second weekend, and "Apes" dipped only 49.2%. This greatly pleased 20th Century Fox reps, who started to boast that they could win the weekend when the film outperformed every new release on Friday, including Wednesday release, "The Help".
Cementing this franchise as one that just carries appeal across many demographics, "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" crossed the $100 million mark, earned back its $93 million production budget (shockingly low, don'tcha think?) and is closing on $200 million worldwide in 10 days. With the sequel already announced, this film might land in the $150-$175 million range domestically, which will be a tremendous success for the somewhat risky relaunch of the franchise.
A flurry of new movies vie for the almighty dollar, with "The Help" performing strong, "Final Destination 5" and "30 Minutes Or Less" splitting the vote somewhat, and what happened with the vaunted "Glee 3-D Concert Movie"??? More analysis, The Weekend Breakdown, and The Top 40 after the cut!
THE HELP
Obviously the theatrical adaptation of the wildly popular Kathryn Stockett had all the makings of being a breakout hit. But there were still some doubts in then industry over whether this film would hit. Stockett forced DreamWorks and Disney to use her friend, Tate Taylor, as a director and screenwriter on the project - himself a filmmaker with the tiny indie, "Pretty Ugly People" the only film on his resume. Then came the returning controversies from African-American groups over how glossed over and unrealistic the depictions of discrimination and segregation happened to be in the era of Jackson, Mississippi and the early 1960s. And yet, through it all, "The Help" performed better than anticipated, earning $26.0 million over the weekend and had a nice nearly $10 million running start to the weekend, with strong numbers on Wednesday and Thursday.
The film drew unanimous cries for Oscar consideration for Viola Davis (but is that for a lead actress or supporting actress???), quite a few Oscar mentions for Octavia Spencer, some for Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard, and impressive comments regarding Emma Stone's performance. If the film breaks the bank similar to 2009's "The Blind Side", which drove massive and unexpected box office numbers to a Best Picture nomination and Oscar win for lead actress Sandra Bullock, "The Help" could easily be a player come awards season.
With Stone, the hottest young actress in the business right now, and featuring arguably the finest acting from an ensemble (save "Midnight In Paris" perhaps) this year, "The Help" won over audiences across all age ranges and netted an "A+" CinemaScore, which reportedly floored Disney and DreamWorks. A majority of critics supported the film (72% TomatoMeter), but notably, some respected critics dismissed the film as another white-washing of race relations, or worse yet, a "White People's Guilt" type of film. The Association of Black Women Historians condemned the film with an incendiary press release, and a critical analysis from respected novelist Martha Southgate appeared in the pages of Entertainment Weekly recently.
On the other side of the coin, actresses Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis took the opportunity to stand up for the film and the widow of slain Civil Rights activist, Medger Evers, praised the book and the film. So, as controversies rattled around, audiences sought out the film to the tune of the largest per screen average of a wide release this weekend and the film seemed to appear to have some strong legs, which might carry the film into the fall.
With a 5-day take of $35.9 million in North America, the film scored the largest opening ever for a female driven dramatic summer film, much more on pace with the comedic "The Devil Wears Prada" which opened to $27.5 million in June 2006. In a year which has seen female-driven films perform strong, "The Help"'s future is limitless at this point, with no true competition to steer the loyal, older demographic away for the foreseeable future.
FINAL DESTINATION 5 MAY NOT OUTWIT DEATH AFTER ALL...
Warner Bros. and New Line delivered the first "post-finale" entry in the series, "Final Destination 5" and scored a decent return, but not nearly as strong when you consider other entries in the series and factor in the inflated 3-D ticket prices charged in many of the locations exhibiting the film. Banking $18.0 million in its opening frame, "5" was the third-largest opening in the series behind 2009's "The Final Destination" and 2006's "Final Destination 3". However, the inflated ticket price for 3D and inflation renders this somewhat poorly attended in comparison.
Ultimately, the film may earn back its $40 million production budget, but likely not by much. With the highly anticipated "Fright Night" and "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" arriving in subsequent weeks, that stateside profitability is certainly not a guarantee.
30 MINUTES OR LESS GETS LEFT BEHIND...
Matching up comparably with the numbers posted last week by "The Change-Up", "30 Minutes Or Less" delivered a middling $13.3 million opening weekend. The film delivered a result that was tolerable for Sony, as other than Jesse Eisenberg, none of the main performers in the film have shown that they can deliver a box office hit. Poor reviews looked to hamstring the film's appeal, but budgeted at a modest $28 million, the film's opening weekend seemed palatable, even though its numbers are soft when compared to the massive sums accrued by other R-rated comedies this year.
The good news is that the film will likely make its budget back and may even develop into somewhat of a cult hit over time. Controversies dogged this picture as well, as the comedy, centered around a pizza delivery boy who is attacked, fitted with a bomb vest, and ordered to rob a bank, is based on a real-life tragic and bizarre robbery plot involving a group of folks in 2003 and resulted in a man's death when the bomb detonated while he was wearing it.
Making matters worse, the film was defeated by "The Smurfs", which outgrossed this new release and finished ahead of the film overall. On the one hand, the two films could not be more opposite from one another, except Sony positioned the release of "30 Minutes" with the idea that "The Smurfs" would be on the decline and they would shift attentions to driving "30 Minutes" to a strong box office haul. With "30 Minutes Or Less" angling for a final gross in the $35-$40 million range, Sony execs were reported to be disappointed with the performance.
GLEE MADE A 3-D CONCERT MOVIE...AND NOBODY CARED...
On the one hand, this was a significant failure. And yet, the film could be profitable by the weekend, so how much of a failure could it truly be? Therein lies the paradox of Fox's "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie", how do you measure its success or failure?
Landing outside of the Top 10 is a massive failure. Having the 7th worst wide release 3D opening of all time is a massive failure. Seeing the concert album never land in the iTunes Top 10 album chart or any of the tracks land in the iTunes Top 200 singles chart when the "Glee" Cast have more Billboard Hot 100 singles entries than any other artist in history is a significant failure.
Carrying a budget of $9 million, with pending DVDs, Blu-Rays, and Video On Demand revenue set to hit by the time Season 3 of the TV series rolls around, is a success.
Truth be told, Fox are reportedly in shock at the film's lack of performance and they were apparently never able to convince people that this was nothing more than a $hamele$$ ca$h grab. Additionally, no one really even could tell what the film was about. Was it simply a concert film? Did it have vignettes with the actors? Was there anything in the film that related to the atorylines and arcs from the TV show? "What is this?" is a question no one at Fox ever truly answered and people simply stayed away from the inflated ticket costs.
SENNA WINS AND RED STATE RETURNS...
Playing in just two locations, heads turned at the critical and opening weekend success of "Senna", a documentary about the life and tragic death of Formula 1 World Champion racer Ayrton Senna. Senna, who died in a highly publicized 1994 Italian raceway accident, has his story told and critics called the film "immersive", "acutely felt and emotional", and "absolutely compelling." Playing to sold out houses in one L.A. location and one New York location, the film grossed $73k.
Kevin Smith's "Red State" saw grosses reported from the launch of its Canadian "Provinces" tour. The film added $21k over the weekend from its weekend run in Montreal, Quebec. Overall "Red State" has grossed a reported $873k from its unique roadshow tour approach and the film will secure its Oscar qualifying run the first week of September. Lionsgate has announced the film will arrive on DVD and Blu-Ray October 19, with a Video On Demand release arriving on Labor Day Weekend.
REMAINING TOP 12 FILMS
"The Smurfs" held strong in its 3rd weekend, sliding just 33.7% and seeing its 17 day domestic gross land at $101.8 million. With no signs of slowing down and "Spy Kids 4" its only competition for the next few weeks, the film is rolling overseas as well. Worldwide, the film has banked $242.9 million thus far on a budget of $110 million.
Most of the other holdovers played consistently with expectations, except for "The Change-Up". Shedding 53% in its second weekend, the film nearly slid all the way out of the Top 10 and is going to be a box office bust. 10 day gross rests at $25.8 million on a $52 million production budget.
THE DISCOUNT HOUSE
"Green Lantern" saw a healthy 268% increase in receipts with its move to the second-run theater circuit. The disappointing summer blockbuster will arrive on home video October 18, 2011.
THE WEEKEND BREAKDOWN
#1 Film - "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes", earned $27.8 million in its second weekend.
Last Year's #1 Film at this time: "The Expendables", earned $34.8 million in its opening weekend.
Biggest Per Screen Average (50+ Sites): "The Help", $10,278 at 2,534 locations ($26.0 million for the weekend, $34.9 million cumulative)
Worst Per Screen Average (50+ Sites): "Judy Moody And The NOT Bummer Summer", $234 at 55 locations ($13k, $15.0 million cumulative)
Largest Increase (50+ Sites): "Green Lantern", +268.1%
Steepest Decline (50+ Sites): "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara", -60.8%
Films Earning More Than $1m for the weekend: 15
Films Which Surpassed $100m: "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes", "The Smurfs"
Films Which Surpassed $200m: N/A
Films Which Surpassed $300m: N/A
Films Which Surpassed Reported Budget This Weekend (Domestic): "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes", "The Help", "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
The Top 40 and other notables (Wkd Figures and % Chg, based on 3-day totals)!
| TW | LW | DAY | FILM | WKD | TOTAL | % CHG |
| 1 | 1
| 10
| Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
| $27.8m | $105.2m | -49.2
|
| 2 | N
| 5
| The Help
| $26.0m | $35.9m | New
|
| 3 | N
| 3
| Final Destination 5
| $18.0m | $18.0m | New
|
| 4 | 2
| 17
| The Smurfs
| $13.7m | $101.8m | -33.7
|
| 5 | N
| 3
| 30 Minutes Or Less
| $13.3m | $13.3m | New
|
| 6 | 3
| 17
| Cowboys And Aliens
| $7.8m | $81.7m | -50.3
|
| 7 | 6
| 31
| Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows Part 2
| $7.3m | $357.3m | -41.7
|
| 8 | 5
| 24
| Captain America: The First Avenger
| $7.2m | $157.0m | -44.6
|
| 9 | 7
| 17
| Crazy, Stupid, Love.
| $7.1m | $55.5m | -41.3
|
| 10 | 4
| 10
| The Change-Up
| $6.3m | $25.8m | -53.4 |
| 11 | N
| 3
| Glee The 3D Concert Movie
| $6.0m | $6.0m | New
|
| 12 | 9
| 38
| Horrible Bosses
| $2.4m | $110.0m | -46.8
|
| 13 | 8
| 24
| Friends With Benefits
| $1.8m | $53.1m | -60.6
|
| 14 | 10
| 47
| Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
| $1.4m | $347.3m | -55.1
|
| 15 | 11
| 38
| Zookeeper
| $1.0m | $75.8m | -53.7
|
| 16 | 13
| 87
| Midnight In Paris
| $703k | $49.7m | -28.4
|
| 17 | 12
| 52
| Cars 2
| $660k | $186.2m | -46.0
|
| 18 | 16
| 24
| Sarah's Key
| $486k | $2.0m | -11.3
|
| 19 | 38
| 59
| Green Lantern
| $406k | $115.0m | +268.1
|
| 20 | 14
| 31
| Winnie The Pooh
| $387k | $25.3m | -52.0
|
| 21 | 19
| 59
| Mr. Popper's Penguins
| $387k | $66.1m | -5.0
|
| 22 | 15
| 94
| Bridesmaids
| $361k | $167.2m | -35.1
|
| 23 | 17
| 81
| Kung Fu Panda 2
| $351k | $163.4m | -29.8
|
| 24 | N
| 3
| Aarakshan
| $343k | $343k | New
|
| 25 | 18
| 87
| Pirates Caribbean/On Stranger Tides
| $330k | $239.7m | -26.5
|
| 26 | 26
| 17
| The Guard
| $283k | $670k | +47.0
|
| 27 | 25
| 17
| The Devil's Double
| $260k | $699k | +31.2
|
| 28 | 24
| 129
| Born To Be Wild IMAX
| $224k | $11.3m | -1.8
|
| 29 | 21
| 52
| Bad Teacher
| $204k | $97.9m | -40.4
|
| 30 | 20
| 73
| X-Men: First Class
| $188k | $145.7m | -49.2
|
| 31 | 22
| 81
| The Hangover Part II
| $182k | $253.9m | -38.0
|
| 32 | 31
| 24
| Another Earth
| $164k | $699k | -3.6
|
| 33 | 23
| 80
| The Tree Of Life
| $159k | $12.5m | -37.6
|
| 34 | 43
| 10
| The Whistleblower
| $115k | $203k | +89.2
|
| 35 | 37
| 514
| Hubble 3D
| $108k | $27.8m | -1.2
|
| 36 | 32
| 66
| Super 8
| $108k | $125.5m | -36.3
|
| 37 | 27
| 59
| Buck
| $108k | $3.5m | -43.1
|
| 38 | 41
| 17
| Attack The Block
| $108k | $454k | +38.9
|
| 39 | 28
| 73
| Beginners
| $101k | $5.5m | -44.8 |
| 40 | 33
| 45
| Larry Crowne
| $93k | $35.6m | -42.4
|
BUBBLING UNDER INCREASES AND OPENINGS:
43. “Senna”, $73k, NEW
47. "Point Blank", $66k, $196k total (17 days), +39.2%
56. "Bellflower", $24k, $56k total (10 days), +7.5%
59. “Red State”, $21k, $873k total, RE-RELEASE
65. “Magic Trip”, $17k, $41k total (10 days), +19.6%
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