Box Office Update: "Contagion" breaks competition down

The top player at the box office this weekend may lead you to believe this weekend was generous. In actuality, "Contagion" was perhaps the only real standout this weekend, with the rest withering in defeat. Soderbergh's film defeated a slump that's been dominated honorably by "The Help" for the past few weeks. Sadly, however, if it weren't for "Contagion", "The Help" would've still conquered the weekend. Despite its most substantial drop of 40%, the film still held on towards the top. Not even "Warrior" could draw in enough audiences, and its weak opening doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in it. The rest of the chart is old hat, with "Bucky Larson" thankfully not even making the top 10. This weekend was just a slight hair above last year, when the stats were pretty much exactly the same with "Resident Evil: Afterlife" in the top spot.

1. "Contagion" (First Weekend; $23.1 million)

2. "The Help" (Fifth Weekend; $8.7 million)

3. "Warrior" (First Weekend; $5.6 million)

4. "The Debt" (Second Weekend; $4.9 million)

5. "Columbiana" (Third Weekend; $4 million)

6. "Rise of the Apes" (Sixth Weekend; $3.9 million)

7. "Shark Night 3D" (Second Weekend; $3.5 million)

8. "Apollo 18" (Second Weekend; $2.9 million)

9. "Our Idiot Brother" (Third Weekend; $2.8 million)

10. "Spy Kids 4" (Fourth Weekend; $2.5 million)

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)

Box Office Update: "Help" Takes it by Storm

I suppose the box office could've tanked a lot more than it did, given the much buzzed about hurricane making its way across the east coast. I have to say that I'm personally underwhelmed by Irene, but it'll do to keep things interesting till we get some quality films our way. For now "The Help" continues to clean up the box office field, just coming shy of $100 million. I admit to completely forgetting of its staying power until it cropped up again this morning. I was focused on the new, which isn't all that interesting.

It shouldn't be surprising that "Columbiana" dominated amongst the new releases, given its action film orientation. I'd be tempted myself if I didn't know that they probably won't be repeating "never forget where you came from" to ridiculous extent as in the trailer. "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" was close behind, which is interesting as there isn't really a demographic for it. I guess that's why it didn't break $10 million. "Our Idiot Brother" was the lowest of the new releases, which is no surprise given it's indie reputation. Doesn't play as broadly as comedies like "Horrible Bosses". Also to no surprise, this weekend performed more than 20% down from last year. Same can be expected from next weekend.

1. "The Help" (Third Weekend; $14.3 million)
2. "Columbiana" (First Weekend; $10.3 million)
3. "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (First Weekend; $8.7 million)
4. "Rise of the Apes" (Fourth Weekend; $8.7 million)
5. "Our Idiot Brother" (First Weekend; $6.6 million)
6. "Spy Kids 4" (Second Weekend; $5.7 million)
7. "The Smurfs" (Fifth Weekend; $4.8 million)
8. "Conan" (Second Weekend; $3.1 million)
9. "Fright Night" (Second Weekend; $3 million)
10. "Crazy, Stupid, Love." (Fifth Weekend; $2.9 million)

Box Office Update: "Help", I Need Somebody!

If I had some sort of foresight on the box office of this weekend, I'd have taken the time out of my weekend to see "Fright Night". It is unfair that that should hit below $10 million. That being said, I still won't see it, if only because I'd rather see something great instead of something merely adequate. Hell, I'm even shelling out some pity for "One Day", which maybe received too much of a critical bashing. I think people were pissed it wasn't the second coming of "An Education", and they immediately wrote it off. I certainly did, without seeing it. I doubt I'd like it too well, but I'm not a huge fan of romances.

On to the real winner of the weekend, "The Help" came out on top, having only dipped % from last weekend. I guess I was right to assume that people would flock to it. It's an extremely likable film. I could see it going on to surpass "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" at this point. The science fiction reboot isn't declining massively, but at a steady pace of which you could expect. It certainly has more staying power than some other notable blockbusters. As for the other new releases I don't really care about, obviously they were the bigger successes. "Spy Kids 4" proved most successful, a horrific crime against nature in my opinion, with "Conan" just behind it.

Of course, what could you have expected with August beginning to draw to a close. There's always been that expectation of something lesser as the most successful part of the year closes out. Next week's slate does have its work cut out for it, as there was a slight resurgence at the end of last summer with "Takers" and "The Last Exorcism". I suppose that "Columbiana", "Our Idiot Brother", and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" are somewhat up to the task. They're covering the market pretty well.

1. "The Help" (Second Weekend; $20.5 million)

2. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (Third Weekend; $16.3 million)

3. "Spy Kids 4" (First Weekend; $12 million)

4. "Conan" (First Weekend; $10 million)

5. "The Smurfs" (Fourth Weekend; $8 million)

6. "Fright Night" (First Weekend; $7.9 million)

7. "Final Destination 5" (Second Weekend; $7.7 million)

8. "30 Minutes or Less" (Second Weekend; $6.3 million)

9. "One Day" (First Weekend; $5.1 million)

10. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (Fourth Weekend; $4.9 million)

Weekend Report: Massive Humidity

It's another overly populated weekend at the theaters, with residents being either irritating or obvious. My hopes are that "The Help" continues to hold on fairly well, hopefully engulfing "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" this weekend. But if you have already seen both of those and are just eager for something new, you probably won't find it this weekend. The best suggestion I can give you is "Fright Night", which has enough strong actors, young and old, to draw interest. I was tempted to head out to see it last night, but then I remembered that I'm not that interested. It's probably the most likable film you'll find this weekend.

And the rest? I'd ignore them if I didn't have to write about them. "Conan the Barbarian", which is in massive need of something separating the two parts of the title, seems to be the crowd offering. However, I don't think many are aware of its existence. I just barely know that it exists, but I don't know what it's about. "Spy Kids 4" is... I've already spent more time talking about it than I'd like. And "One Day"? Don't expect anything from it. It might be habitable, but it's about as uninspired as the house my parents slammed together.

For Your Anticipation: GET OUT OF MY FACE!

I tried to find a worthy ranking for the abysmal slot of releases coming this weekend, and Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World was the obvious choice for the bottom of the stack. The only seeds for success in this one are built in franchise power, for what that's worth in a franchise that's been out of order for the better half of the past decade. That and the gimmickry of 3D, and even 4D with "Smellovision". It's as if Rodriguez wants to literally rape every orifice of your face. Just avoid this one.

Film to See in 2011: August

This will be a bit of an unorthodox edition of this monthly column, mostly due to the fact that I can't say I'm truly ecstatic about any of the films releasing this August. In any case, I'll be busy this month catching up on films I've missed out on over the past couple months. Meek's Cutoff and Tabloid are two films I'm eagerly waiting to see, and I'll be sitting down this afternoon for Crazy, Stupid, Love, so it's very much a reserved time of the year. In my opinion, it's a month too many in a Summer that has long since become redundant. Still, there are a few films probably worth checking out.

I can't say I feel anything but contempt for The Change-Up, which stacks together the repetitive Jason Bateman and the much maligned Ryan Reynolds. Rise of the Planet of the Apes has been artificially cold on the radar for quite some time. The Help honestly looks insipid, and sadly what you'd expect to see from it. 30 Minutes or Less could be fun, but it lacks the emotional core that made Zombieland enjoyable in the first place. No comment on Final Destination 5, Glee's concert film, Spy Kids 4, or Columbiana, and that's for good reason.