THE HELP NEEDS NONE

Folks who went to the movies over the weekend had little company. Four new movies became instant flops, helping to allow DreamWorks’s relatively low-budget The Help to remain in first place in its third week with just $20.5 million, a drop of only 21 percent from last week, according to studio estimates. Twentieth Century Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes dropped a modest 41 percent to $16.3 million in its fourth week to remain in second place. Then came the four films that turned up DOA, led by The Weinstein Co.’s Spy Kids: All the Time in the World with $12 million and Lionsgate’s Conan the Barbarian with $10 million. Dreamworks’s Fright Night with $8.5 million, just ahead of holdover The Smurfs with 8 million. The weakest performer of all was Focus Features’ One Day. whose days may be numbered given its debut with just $5.1 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:
1. The Help, $20.5 million; 2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $16.3 million; 3. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, $12 million; 4. Conan the Barbarian, $10 million; 5. Fright Night, $8.3 million; 6. The Smurfs, $8 million; 7. Final Destination 5, $7.7 million; 8. 30 Minutes or Less, $6.3 million; 9. One Day, $5.1 million; 10. Crazy, Stupid, Love., $5 million.

UPDATE
Final Figures for the Top Five Films

1. The Help, $20,018,659
2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $16,119,502
3. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, $11,644,672
4. Conan the Barbarian, $10,021,215
5. Fright Night, $8,114,388