Weekend Box Office – THE HELP Jumps to First with $20 Million, Topping All New Releases

After two weeks on top, Rise of the Planet of the Apes swapped places with last week’s number two The Help on top of the weekend box office.  That left places 3-5 for the major new releases, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Conan the Barbarian, and Fright Night.  Even One Day managed only a middling per-screen average in its smaller release.  Details after the jump. Title Friday Total 1 The Help $20,479,000 $71.8 2 Rise of the Planet of the Apes $16,300,000 $133.8 3 Spy Kids 4 $12,020,000 $12.0 4 Conan the Barbarian $10,000,000 $10.0 5 Fright Night $8,300,000 $8.3 6 The Smurfs $8,000,000 $117.7 7 Final Destination 5 $7,705,000 $32.2 8 30 Minutes or Less $6,300,000 $25.8 9 One Day $5,127,567 $5.1 10 Crazy, Stupid, Love $4,950,000 $64.4 The Help is officially a big hit for Disney and looks like it will have legs for the rest of the summer, too.  This weekend's total is a mere 21% decline from last weekend.  That number is a bit inflated because the movie opened on a Wednesday, but still impressive no matter the circumstances.  The Help will easily surpass $100 million---I am curious to see if the combination of acclaim and commercial success can propel the drama to Oscar buzz that doesn't come easy to August releases. Though Rise of the Planet of the Apes may get a technical nomination or two, Fox may have to settle for the hundreds of millions it pulls in worldwide.  The movie has grossed $134 million domestically, and will approach $200 million by the end of its run.  $300 million worldwide is a certainty, and $400 million is not out of the question.  It's not often we see two critical favorites as diverse Apes and The ...