With expected Hollywood earnings of $120 million cut by a hefty projected loss of 25% thanks to Hurricane Irene, "The Help" held onto the top spot at the box office during the dismally slow weekend of August 26-28, 2011.
The Emma Stone starring book-based picture, which has been perched atop the movie money-making list for the third straight week, pulled in $4.2 million on Friday with a weekend total of approximately $14.5 million.
Having the unfortunate pleasure of opening up on the storm-impacted date, Zoe Saldana's newly released action flick "Colombiana" followed closely behind with a $3.7 million first day - which set the Olivier Megaton directed offering up for a debut weekend take of $10.2 million.
Rounding out the top five at the box office in estimated weekend totals are the Katie Holmes fronted horror/thriller "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" ($9.2 million), followed by "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" ($8.5 million) and "Spy Kids 4" ($6.2 million). Meanwhile, the just-released Paul Rudd comedy "Our Idiot Brother" also felt the effects of Hurricane Irene with a much lower than expected $6 million opening en route to a sixth place finish.
