SPIN FACTOR®

The HSX Blog



Whisper Numbers: Three new films challenge The Help.

The last weekend of August begins three new wide releases, but once again The Help [THELP] is likely to remain atop the box office. The period drama about Southern white women and their black maids declined just 23% in its second weekend. With no new competition for its target audience, The Help should maintain another great hold for its third weekend. The Help looks to clean up another $15 million.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark [AFRAD] is the third new horror release in three weeks. Katie Holmes [KHOLM] stars in the R-rated haunted house remake of a TV movie, but producer/writer Guillermo del Toro is the main draw for horror fans. FilmDistrict successfully opened Insidious to $13.3 million in April, but Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark faces stronger competition against the lingering Final Destination 5 and Fright Night. Opening in 2760 theaters, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark could shine a light on $10 million.

Zoe Saldana [ZSALD] toplines the PG-13 rated actioner Colombiana [CLMBA] as a female assassin. Produced by Luc Besson, the film doesn’t offer anything new or different from his previous work, not to mention the TV series 'Nikita' that’s based on his breakthrough film Le Femme Nikita. Though Saldana starred in Avatar and Star Trek, she has yet to establish a draw on her own. Appealing mainly to young males, Colombiana could score about $9 million from 2614 locations.

The summer of R-rated comedies ends with Our Idiot Brother [MIBRO]. Paul Rudd [PRUDD] stars as a stoner who imposes on the family of his three sisters. The Weinstein Co. has heavily marketed the film, but moviegoers may have already tuned out as evident with the under-performance of The Change-Up and 30 Minutes or Less. Arriving in 2555 theaters, Our Idiot Brother could wise up to $8 million.

Since all the sophomore films flopped, Rise of the Planet of the Apes [RSAPE] should stay in the top five and grab another $9 million.

That’s the whisper from the trading floor.



Tag(s): THELP, AFRAD, KHOLM, ZSALD, CLMBA, MIBRO, PRUDD, RSAPE

View more Blog posts »



By Box Office Whisperer on Thursday, August 25, 2011 @ 03:37 PM 5949 views

Recent Comments

    No recent comments.



Late Fame (LTFAM) 150000 4.04 (+0.41)          Evil Dead Untitled (EVLD6) 5000 29.89 (-0.11)          Evil Dead Untitled (EVLD6) 10000 29.89 (-0.11)          Evil Dead Untitled (EVLD6) 5000 29.89 (-0.11)          The One (THEON) 150000 7.86 (-0.03)          Stuntnuts: The Movie (STUNT) 150000 22.26 (-0.06)          The Matrix 5 (MTRX5) 150000 36.07 (-0.10)          Killing Gawker (KGAWK) 150000 20.51 (-0.05)          Greenhouse aka The Uninhabitable (GRENH) 150000 34.16 (-0.10)          Evil Dead Untitled (EVLD6) 150000 29.89 (-0.11)          Distant (DISTN) 150000 7.55 (-0.04)          Barney (BRNEY) 150000 8.55 (-0.03)          Untitled Event Film Directed by (UEFCN) 50000 100.01 (+0.01)          The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (HTRTC) 150000 26.59 (-0.41)          Untitled Event Film Directed by (UEFCN) 150000 100.01 (+0.01)          The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (HTRTC) 100000 26.59 (-0.41)          Dear Santa (DSATA) 150000 4.86 (-0.02)          Weapons (WEPNS) 150000 33.14 (+0.57)          Gundam (GUNDM) 150000 14.74 (-0.05)          Jake Kasdan (JKASD) 2999 149.64 (0.00)          Nosferatu (NOSFR) 10000 29.16 (+0.01)          Untitled Event Film Directed by (UEFCN) 1000 100.01 (+0.01)          Casa Bonita Mi Amor! (CBMA) 150000 0.30 (-0.01)          The Critic (KLTLT) 150000 0.31 (-0.02)          Andrew Stanton (ANSTA) 999 174.04 (0.00)          Andrew Stanton (ANSTA) 993 174.04 (0.00)          Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (SUPGR) 10000 76.70 (+0.01)          La Cocina (LCOCI) 150000 0.14 (-0.02)          Snow White (SNWHT) 10000 204.23 (+0.03)          In the Summers (ITSUM) 150000 0.17 (-0.02)          Untitled Event Film Directed by (UEFCN) 1000 100.01 (+0.01)          The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (HTRTC) 4000 26.59 (-0.41)          Wicked - Opening Weekend (WICKD.OW) 5000 102.34 (0.00)          Across The River And Into The Tr (ATRIT) 150000 0.01 (-0.02)          Gladiator II - Opening Weekend (GLAD2.OW) 5000 72.67 (0.00)          Jonathan Bailey (JBAIL) 24000 69.67 (+0.04)          Felicity Jones (FJONE) 999 58.25 (-0.12)          Felicity Jones (FJONE) 999 58.25 (-0.12)          Nick Cassavetes (NCASS) 999 80.08 (0.00)          Nick Cassavetes (NCASS) 999 80.08 (0.00)          The Dish aka Untitled Event Film (SKIES) 5000 117.39 (-0.71)          The Dish aka Untitled Event Film (SKIES) 10000 117.39 (-0.71)          Untitled Event Film Directed by (UEFCN) 50000 100.01 (+0.01)          Blood on Snow (BLOSN) 30000 26.31 (+0.55)          Mufasa: The Lion King (LION2) 218 299.98 (0.00)          Black Phone 2 (BPHO2) 59000 56.58 (-0.06)          Untitled Event Film Directed by (UEFCN) 150000 100.01 (+0.01)          Queer (QUEER) 150000 6.38 (-0.12)          Luke Bracey (LBRAC) 999 56.02 (0.00)          Luke Bracey (LBRAC) 999 56.02 (0.00)