'The Help' spends a third week shining at #1

By Sarah Sluis

This Labor Day weekend was so quiet, it had the lowest audience attendance in fifteen years, something that doesn't make exhibitors or studios happy. With little competition, The Help coasted right into first place with another $14.6 million, .5% more than the previous weekend. Including Labor Day, the light Southern drama racked up $19 million and currently has $123 million in the pot thanks to its strong holding power.

The Debt, which gave adults the high-quality fare that's been lacking at the summer box office, rightly landed in second place with a $12.5 million four-day total. Sound reviews and support from adult audiences should make the movie a popular choice in subsequent weeks. Last year, Focus released The American over Labor Day weekend, earning $16 million, so The Debt fell short of the benchmark set by that adult thriller.

With two exploitation-style horror movies battling it out over the weekend, neither one shone. Apollo 18, a "found footage" scary sci-fi movie set on the moon, landed at third with a $10.7 million four-daytotal. Shark Night 3D closely followed, with a $10.3 million weekend total. Even with added revenues from 3D screens, the movie still couldn't best Apollo 18.

On the specialty front, two pictures that attracted non-indie audiences shone. Seven Days in Utopia, a faith-based sports movie, averaged $2,900 per screen on 561 screens for a $1.9 million total. Saving Private Perez, an adventure/comedy that sends a Mexican drug lord on a mission to find his brother in Iraq, grabbed the Spanish-speaking audience with $5,000 per screen at 161 locations for an $830,000 total.

Audiences weren't so eager to join in on A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy, which flopped with $825 per screen on 143 screens. IFC's Love Crime, a French-language combination of Working Girl and Single White Female, fared better, with $10,500 per screen at five locations.

This Friday, director Steven Soderbergh's epidemic drama Contagion will open, joined by porn star comedy Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star and the fight movie Warrior.

'The Debt' competes against twin horror pics 'Shark Night' and 'Apollo 18'

By Sarah Sluis

In terms of quality, The Debt (1,826 theatres) leads the pack of new releases this week. However, the more likely winner of the box office will be The Help, which still has strong momentum. The Debt opened on Wednesday to slightly less than $1 million, which means it could be tough for the movie to even break $10 million over the weekend. Based on the Israeli thriller Ha-Hov, the spy pic boasts a starry cast that includes Sam Worthington, Helen Mirren, and up-and-comer Jessica Chastain. In a summer full of teen-oriented action films, this movie is made for adults. Critic Wendy R. Weinstein admires director John Madden, who "knows how to assemble a brilliant cast, let them make the necessary connections and ultimately create chemistry." Even though the movie, set in two separate eras, "slackens in its third act," on the whole it's "unnervingly good."

What's summer without people being gobbled up by sea creatures at the beach? Last year it was Piranha 3D, this year it's Shark Night 3D (2,806 theatres). I have to say, the plot for this one is highly original--or should one say, grabbing at straws? There are teens alone on a vacation in the brackish Louisiana Bayou, a man-eating shark, and a serial killer. Throw 'em all in the pot, stir, and if it earns enough, repeat.

Space terror picture Apollo 18 (3,328 theatres) applies the found-footage technique used in horror picture Paranormal Activity to space. Apparently, a top-secret mission to the moon went terribly wrong, and only recently was the footage leaked to the media. At the sunset of America's space program, the subject feels oddly appropriate. This movie shows the "real" reason why mankind never returned to the moon, which has to do with space creatures, not budgetary restrictions.

Combining spirituality and sports, the winning formula that gave The Blind Side box office success, Seven Days in Utopia is a "G-rated piece of American cheese," according to THR critic Todd McCarthy, which "will find open arms across a wide swath of the Bible Belt and through the South." With 561 theatres in its release, this drama could make a real impact if it can find the right audience.

On the specialty front, A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy sells itself with its title. While it's releasing in the indie market, the movie is "mindless but real summer fun," according to critic David Noh, which may appeal to audiences who want to lighten up and enjoy its "surprising dollops of charm and insight."

On Tuesday, we'll see if Labor Day provided an extra boost to the end-of-summer box office doldrums.