“The Help” the Only Realistic Rival of ‘Planet of the Apes’ This Weekend

This weekend will see the debut of four new movies but none of them are expected to end the box office supremacy of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

Although 3-D horror flick “Final Destination 5,”action-comedy “30 Minutes or Less” and concert movie “Glee: The 3-D Concert Movie” are all set to hit the theatres this weekend, ‘Apes’ only realistic rival is expected to be the comedy-drama “The Help.”

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” which features the uprising of simians against the humankind, was last weekend’s highest grossing movie and took in an impressive tally of $54.8 million at the US box office. In the subsequent three days since last weekend, it has raked in another $18.2 million, which indicates that its honeymoon period is still going on.

‘Apes’ distributor 20^th Century Fox is hoping that its ticket sales decline by less than 50% so that it could target a figure somewhere around $30 million.

Unlike the other three new weekend debutants, “The Help” actually opened up on Wednesday and made $5.5 million, which suggests that it has created enough buzz to be a fan-favorite at the upcoming crowded weekend.

Movie adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s novel of the same name, “The Help” received a perfect score from reviewers after its midweek debut. The movie’s makers are hoping that it would attract a large part of the African-American audience and do well in the Southern regions of the country.

‘Final Destination 5’ isn’t expected to do any wonders. Its only catch is its 3-D feature, but the fading interest in 3-D technology coupled with the franchise’s poor recent record, it is fair to assume that New Line Cinema will expect nothing more than $20 million this weekend.

R-rated comedy “30 Minutes or Less” is expected to make less than what other flicks from the same genre have made this summer, but a $15 million debut from an overall budget of $28 million will be enough to make Sony Pictures happy.

“Glee: The 3-D Concert Movie” has some sort of x-factor in it, as the franchise’s millions of fans could easily make it an instant hit. However, most of its songs have already been aired on television and it is unclear how many would want to watch it again just because it is in 3-D.

Source: [sacbee.com]