Emma Stone and company fend off ‘Colombiana’ and ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.’ By Ryan J. Downey Emma Stone in “The Help” Photo: DreamWorks “The Help” managed to fend off competition from a new action movie, a horror flick and a comedy as the overall box-office suffered from stormy weather on the East Coast. The adaptation of the popular novel took in another $14.3 million over the weekend to remain at number one with a $96.6 million total. The Box Office Top Five: 1. “The Help,” $14.3 million 2. “Colombiana” $10.3 million 3. “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” $8.6 million 4. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” $8.6 million 5. “Our Idiot Brother” $6.5 million Hurricane Irene certainly affected box-office receipts, according to studio estimates released Sunday. Ticket sales were down roughly 23 percent compared with the same period last year. AMC theaters closed all of its theaters in New York, Virginia, Philadelphia, Marlyand and D.C. while Clearview Cinemas and Regal Cinemas closed many locations as well, The Los Angeles Times reported. “The Help” has been in theaters for three weeks now and will certainly cross the $100 million mark domestically soon. Zoe Saldana, whose supporting turns in “Avatar” and “Star Trek” have made her a fan favorite, stars in “Colombiana,” the latest female driven action flick from Luc Besson. The filmmaker behind “Leon: The Professional” and “La Femme Nikita” served as co-writer and producer on the movie (it was directed Olivier Megaton), which has suffered from unfavorable reviews. The revenge-driven tale which stars Saldana as a drug dealer’s daughter turned assassin was #2 at the box office with a $10.3 million debut. “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is another movie with a famous director as co-writer and producer. Guillermo del Toro told Comic-Con audiences that the original “Afraid…,” which was a television movie he saw as a kid, was one of the scariest things he’d ever seen. Katie Holmes stars in the creepy-house centered remake, which took in just $8.6 million in its debut to land at #3. “Our Idiot Brother” was the only of the weekend’s bigger new releases to receive mostly favorable reviews from critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes , but it opened with the worst box-office receipts. The Paul Rudd comedy earned just $6.5 million. This weekend’s new release schedule includes espionage thriller “The Debt.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Our Idiot Brother.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos ‘Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Premiere ‘Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes’
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‘The Help’ Weathers Irene To Hold #1 Box Office Spot
