Despite a lot of competition coming into the market, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes held strong in its second weekend in cinemas to top the US box office once again. Dropping only 50% from last week, it took another $27.5 million from Friday to Sunday, which boosted it past $100 million in only 10 days. As the film is now being touted as the first in a trilogy, it suggests the movie is strong enough to warrant follow-ups.
However Apes wasn’t the only movie with reason to cheer, as The Help took $25.5 million over the weekend, for a grand total of $35.3 million since it opened mid-last week. It’s a tremendous start for a film that lacks the explosions and FX usually associated with the summer season. However the popularity of the book it’s based on, coupled with strong reviews, have helped the 60s set segregation drama to overperform compared to expectations.
The other main openers had less to cheer about. Final Destination 5 was expected to end up with over $20 million in its first weekend, but ended up getting $18.4 million. That’s still not bad for a relatively low budget movie, but the poor reception to the last movie probably dented this one. 30 Minutes Or Less also didn’t do brilliantly, with the Jesse Eisenberg heist comedy ending up with only $13.5 million.
However the real loser was Glee The 3D Concert Movie, which didn’t even make the top 10, taking just $5.7 million to place 11th on the chart. Admittedly it cost only $9 million to make, but it’s still a pretty weak opening.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of August 12th-14th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Rise Of The Planet of The Apes | $27.5 | $104.8 |
| 2 | The Help | $25.5 | $35.3 |
| 3 | Final Destination 5 | $18.4 | $18.4 |
| 4 | The Smurfs | $13.5 | $101.5 |
| 5 | 30 Minutes Or Less | $13.0 | $13.0 |
| 6 | Cowboys & Aliens | $7.6 | $81.4 |
| 7 | Captain America: the First Avenger | $7.1 | $156.8 |
| 8 | Crazy, Stupid Love | $6.9 | $55.4 |
| 9 | Harry Potter And The Deathy Hallows – Part 2 | $6.8 | $356.9 |
| 10 | The Change-Up | $6.2 | $25.7 |