“The Help” got a boost to number one at the domestic box office with a weekend estimate of $20 million. The comedy-drama is about a young southern white woman and her relationship with the black “help” during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer star.
“The Help” is based on the 2009 bestselling novel of the same title by Kathryn Stockett. The film’s budget, $25 million. In two weeks, it has made around $71 million and is getting some Oscar buzz as well.
After two weeks at number one, “Rise of the Apes,” fell to number two with around $16.3 million. Followed in third place, by the fourth installment of the “Spy Kids” movie series, which generated about $12 million. “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World” stars Jessica Alba and Joel McHale.
The attempted reboot of “Conan the Barbarian” fell flat, coming in fourth with an estimate $10 million. This new telling of the mythical warrior Conan’s revenge story features Jason Momoa in the starring role. In two earlier film versions, “Conan the Barbarian” (1982) and “Conan the Destroyer” (1984) a rising action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, played the lead character.
Rounding out the top five, the aninmated family film, “The Smurfs” with somewhere around $8 million. Final box office numbers out tomorrow.
