It was a slow weekend for megaplex owners, as a hurricane kept people away from the movies on the east coast and people found better things to do with their time in the rest of North America.
Thus, “The Help” ended up staying on top with just $14.3 million, while newcomers “Colombiana” and “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” came in second and third with $10.3 million and $8.7 million, respectively.
Fun fact: “The Help” is expected to break $100 million sometime this week, making it one of the few summer hits that didn’t involve superheroes, giant robots, three guys yelling at each other or superintelligent primates. Which reminds me: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was right on the heels of “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark“, taking fourth place with $8.65 million. Their positions might switch when final totals are released later today. Won’t make either film any better, though.
You’ll have to forgive me; I’ve spent most of the last 48 hours in a white heat, putting together my last contributions to NOW’s TIFF preview issue and assembling a massive thing for MSN. Stay tuned; you’ll find them all here as they become available. But right now, more work.
I have not seen Apes yet, but your review is in line with my impression of the trailers, which is that the movie looks incredibly, astoundingly lame. Yet people seem to LOVE this movie. Critics notwithstanding, it’s easily the most buzzed about movie of the summer. I just can’t figure out what the appeal is. What the hell do people see in it?
You say ‘critics nothwithstanding’, but it’s worth noting that Apes has received plenty of positive critical attention as well. Norm’s the outlier on this one. (I haven’t seen it myself yet to determine if he’s right.)
@ Josh — My theory is that audiences are being drawn in by the movie they THINK they’re going to see; I can’t account for the critics who’ve embraced it. The movie’s too goofy to take seriously, and too sloppy to enjoy as camp; it’s just stiff and silly and increasingly slapdash as it progresses. If people just want to see chimps and gorillas running around smacking people, great, but “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” doesn’t even do that terribly well.
@ Don — Trust me, I’m right.