With the summer movie season rapidly coming to a close, three new films hit multiplexes this weekend that will likely not perform very well; R-rated horror film Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark from FilmDistrict, PG-13 action thriller Colombiana starring Zoe Saldana from Sony/TriStar and Paul Rudd leads an ensemble cast in R-rated comedy Our Idiot Brother from The Weinstein Co. None of the films will likely be strong enough to knock out current box office king, The Help.   Based on my estimates, the Top 10 will generate $75.2 million this weekend, down approximately 13.8% from last year when Sony’s Takers and Lionsgate’s The Last Exorcism led the overall Top 10 to a gross of $87.2 million. 

20^th Century Fox’s sci-fi prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes held firm in first place first place on Friday despite competition from four new films. Apes collected an estimated $7.8 million and should be on track for a weekend tally north of $26 million. This will put the primate pic at just over $100 million total by the end of the weekend. Not bad considering most felt the franchise was over and done with.

Four new films hit multiplexes this weekend; horror sequel Final Destination 5 from New Line Cinema, Sony’s R-rated comedy 30 Minutes or Less starring Jesse Eisenberg, historical drama The Help starring Emma Stone from DreamWorks and 20^th Century Fox releases Glee: The 3D Concert Movie. None of the films will be strong enough to knock out current box office king, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.   Based on my estimates, the Top 10 will generate $139.3 million this weekend, up a modest 8.3% from last year when Lionsgate’s The Expendables and Sony’s Eat Pray Love led the overall Top 10 to a gross of $127.8 million. 

20^th Century Fox’s sci-fi prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes easily rose to first place on Friday, grossing roughly the same amount as the other four films occupying the Top 5 combined. Apes bashed its way to an estimated $19 million first day (including $1.25M from Thursday midnight showings) and is on track to an opening weekend total in the high 40’s. The film has received tremendous support from critics and will likely play well over the next month due to what will more than likely be positive word of mouth from audiences. Apes is the last big summer popcorn movie and will only have to deal with competition from B-movie fare such as remakes Fright Night and the sure to be atrocious Conan the Barbarian in the coming weeks. 

The month of August kicks off with the last potential summer blockbuster, PG-13 sci-fi prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes from 20^th Century Fox. Universal also opens R-rated body switching comedy The Change-Up starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman. Planet of the Apes will dominate the charts this weekend while The Change-Up will likely debut near the bottom of the Top 5. Based on my estimates, the Top 10 will generate $145.7 million this weekend, up about 19.2% from last year when Sony’s comedy The Other Guys led the overall Top 10 to a gross of $117.7 million.