Box Office Update: "Help"! Somebody! Anybody!

Does the enduring box office success of "The Help" have anything to do with how good a film it is? Maybe a little, but it's more to do with the fact that we have nothing better to do. I dismissed the lion's share of releases this weekend, and as it turns out I wasn't the only one. The only slightly positive film this weekend, "The Debt", ended up the strongest release, despite the tepid response on its Wednesday release. "Apollo 18" and "Shark Night 3D" fell just slightly behind, splitting the horror crowd down the middle. It was a very uneven weekend.

As far as long term box office goes, I'd actually say that August has been something of a success. Three films of this month have earned more than $100 million thus far. "The Smurfs" is somewhat arguable, as it premiered at the tail end of July, but it still managed $130 million throughout the month, despite terrible reviews. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" could've been much worse than it was, so the general optimism from it has pushed it to $160 million. And "The Help" is still on the rise, currently with $118 million and climbing. This weekend was about 8% higher than last year, when "The American" arrived to undeserved critical bashing, just barely outrunning "Machete".

1. "The Help" (Fourth Weekend; $14.2 million)

2. "The Debt" (First Weekend; $9.7 million)

3. "Apollo 18" (First Weekend; $8.7 million)

4. "Shark Night 3D" (First Weekend; $8.6 million)

5. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (Fifth Weekend; $7.8 million)

6. "Columbiana" (Second Weekend; $7.4 million)

7. "Our Idiot Brother" (Second Weekend; $5.2 million)

8. "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (Second Weekend; $4.9 million)

9. "Spy Kids 4" (Third Weekend; $4.6 million)

10. "The Smurfs" (Sixth Weekend; $4 million)