The first weekend of February was pretty depressing with only The Roommate and Sanctum opening (don’t remember them either?), but these past three days have set the new record for worst weekend of 2011 thus far. With Hurricane Irene in its path, The Help remained on top, taking in $14.3m and almost crossing the $100m milestone.
Out of the new releases, the Zoe Saldana actioner Colombiana took number two with $10.3m, still a weak outing. The Guillermo del Toro-produced horror flick Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark opened soft with $8.6m and The Weinsten Company’s summer comedy Our Idiot Brother took in $6.5m with a $5m budget.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes continued its strong run, with a total close to $150m. Conan the Barbarian can officially be declared a massive bomb, as it dropped a heavy 69.1% for only a $16.5m total. Fright Night dd similar business as it dropped 60.7% for only a $14.2m total. It looks like Paramount’s reopening of Transformers: Dark of the Moon in select theaters didn’t pan out as it only jumped a miniscule 4.4% from last weekend.
In limited release, Circumstance and Higher Ground both did similar business as the former grabbed a $6,214 per-theater-average while the latter did $7,633. Check out the top 10 below.
1. The Help – $14.33m – $96.63m
2. Colombiana – $10.3 (debut)
3. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – $8.68m (debut)
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – $8.65m – $148.45m
5. Our Idiot Brother – $6.58m (debut)
6. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World – $5.72m – $21.71m
7. The Smurfs – $4.8m – $125.99m
8. Conan the Barbarian – $3.1m – $16.57m
9. Fright Night – $3m – $14.2m
10. Crazy, Stupid, Love. – $2.9m – $69.53m
Next week sees the wide release of Apollo 18, The Debt and Shark Night 3D. Bodyguard, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, Love Crime and Saving Private Perez all open in limited releases.
Did you venture out to theaters this weekend? What do you plan checking out next weekend?