UPDATED: I have updated the numbers with actual estimates.
I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes holding on for a solid second weekend, after a stellar $54.8 million opening. The last thing I ever would have thought would ignite the box-office is a reboot of a 40+-year-old franchise that features apes taking over the world, but I’m happy to see the support and can’t wait to hear news of a sequel.
Rise of the Apes took in an estimated $8.1 million on Friday, which puts it on track to earn somewhere around $24-26 million for the weekend. Yeah, we’re looking at a 50+% drop from opening weekend, but it managed to overperform last week, and with the current expected return for this weekend the $93 million budgeted feature will be over the $100 million mark domestically by the end of the day Sunday and easily over the $150 million mark worldwide as it already has amassed over $43 million from foreign territories.
However, while the conversation going into the weekend was focused on Final Destination 5 perhaps taking the top spot, it is the mid-week opener, The Help, that’s coming on strong. After taking in $9.8 million in its first two days at the box-office, the adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s bestselling novel is took in an estimated $7.626 million Friday and is looking at a $21 million weekend, or perhaps higher should word of mouth continue to spread.
Comparatively, The Help has received an A+ CinemaScore from audience members according to The Hollywood Reporter while Rise of the Apes earned an A- and fellow newcomer, Final Destination 5, a solid B+.
Speaking of the fifth film in the 11-year-old franchise, Final Destination 5 took home an estimated $7.34 million on Friday and is expected to end somewhere around $18 million for the weekend and a third place finish. The film is said to be budgeted around $40-45 million, which is impressive considering how much better the money was spent compared to its lackluster predecessor, which cost the same amount. However, The Final Destination managed to open at $27.4 million back in August of 2009. Was it so bad it scared away audiences from what is easily a much, much better film?
Rolling on the newcomer train, the next stop is Columbia Pictures who ushered 30 Minutes or Less into theaters to the tune of an estimated $4.85 million, a B CinemaScore and an anticipated $13 million weekend for the R-rated comedy. This result is shy of expectations, but with a $28 million budget this film is sure to end up profitable once all is said and done.
The last newcomer of the weekend is Fox’s Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, which opened to $2.725 million from 2,040 theaters and is now hoping to hit the $7 million mark for the weekend. Personally I’ve never understood the fascination with the television series the film derives from, but with a tiny $9 million budget this can’t be looked at as all that bad a return.
I’ve included the updated estimates for Friday’s top six below and will be back on Sunday with a complete wrap-up.
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes – $8.1 million
- The Help – $7.626 million
- Final Destination 5 – $7.34 million
- 30 Minutes or Less – $4.85 million
- The Smurfs – $3.8 million
- Glee: The 3D Concert Movie – $2.725 million
