'Apes' summons more moviegoers than 'The Help'

By Sarah Sluis

By keeping its second-weekend fall to just under 50%, Rise of the Planet of the Apes retained its number-one spot and added another $27.5 million to its total. The movie's visual effects played a large part in attracting audiences. Now that this reboot is a success, maybe one of the four sequels the original 1968 film spawned will end up in the works.

The Help put in a strong performance, just barely missing the first-place spot with a $25 million total. Females over 25 comprised the majority of viewers, though the movie played well across all audience segments. The drama, which opened on Wednesday, has performed steadily, with a five-day total of $35 million. The movie's release has been accompanied by some thoughtful, biting commentary. Tulane professor Melissa Harris-Perry dismissed the movie as "The Real Housewives of Jackson, Mississippi," an apt description that explains both why the movie is entertaining and not the best place to look for straight history.

Final Destination 5 finished under expectations with $18.7 million and the lowest attendance of any film in the horror franchise. The last movie, The Final Destination, was billed as the last, so it's possible some of the hard-core fans felt cheated by the franchise's refusal to die when planned.

30 Minutes or Less debuted fifth to a disappointing $13 million. Of the many R-rated comedies that have come out this summer, this one seemed to have the most limited appeal, with teen boys (including ones too young to buy tickets) in the comedy's sweet spot. Indeed, 69% of the audience was under the age of 25 and 53% was male.

Glee: The 3D Concert Movie became a miss in the hit-or-miss live concert category. Despite higher ticket prices for the 3D movie, the concert film grossed just $5.7 million. Perhaps viewers didn't see the value of a movie. The actual "Glee" concerts provided viewers a rare opportunity to see the cast members in real life, but the concert movie was essentially an expensive rerun of the television show.

This Friday, the summer box office will still be in full swing. Spooky remake Fright Night will open opposite action epic Conan the Barbarian, the romantic One Day, and Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, which will have just a week or so to capture young audiences before they go back to school.