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‘Bucky Larson’ flops as ‘The Help’ remains strong at #2. By Ryan J. Downey Matt Damon in “Contagion” Photo: Warner Bros We wouldn’t be surprised by a spike in hand-sanitizer sales over the weekend, considering how many folks saw “Contagion.” Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh’s procedural thriller — about a pandemic spread through doorknobs, Blackberrys and handshakes — was the #1 movie at the box office, with an estimated $23.1 million debut. “Contagion” — which stars a remarkable number of Academy Award nominees and winners — Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, John Hawkes, Elliott Gould, Jude Law and Laurence Fishburne — has been a hit with critics, with 82 percent of them reviewing the film favorably, according to Rotten Tomatoes . “Warrior” also boasted 82 percent on the Tomatometer at press time but was only able to muster a paltry $5.6 million in its debut, landing the mixed-martial arts drama at #3 on the box-office chart. By comparison, “The Fighter” (which critics also loved) took in $12.1 million in its 2010 debut. By all accounts Adam Sandler and his Happy Madison pals had a blast making “Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star,” but it’s unlikely they were pleased with the film’s reception. “Bucky” (which wasn’t screened in advance for critics) took in less than $2 million at 1,500 single-screen locations. The movie’s $1.45 million is less than half the opening-weekend number of “Grandma’s Boy,” which starred Bucky co-writer Allen Covert and “Bucky” star Nick Swardson. Meanwhile “The Help” continued to do great business, landing at #2 with another $8.6 million added to its five-week total (which now stands at over $137 million). The adaptation of the popular novel is now the 14th-highest grossing film of 2011. “The Help” co-star Jessica Chastain also appears in “The Debt,” which took in $4.9 million in its second weekend of release to land at #4. “Columbiana” rounded out the top five with $4 million in its second weekend of release. The Luc Besson-produced female-driven action flick has earned $29.7 million thus far. This weekend’s new releases include the highly touted Ryan Gosling flick “Drive,” which Variety wrote “takes the tired heist-gone-bad genre out for a spin, delivering fresh guilty-pleasure thrills in the process.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Contagion.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .

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‘Contagion’ Slays ‘Warrior’ At Weekend Box Office