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I LOVE GIGGS on 03 September 2011
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Friday Report: 'The Help' Does It Again

The Help stayed in charge for the third Friday in a row, remaining the saving grace of a moribund close to Summer 2011. Down only 18 percent from last Friday, the drama earned an estimated $3.6 million, lifting its total to $108 million in 24 days.

The dueling horror movies, Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D, were just $10,000 apart, but both were bloodless.Apollo nabbed an estimated $2.84 million at 3,328 nearly single-screen locations, while Shark packed an estimated $2.83 million on approximately 4,100 screens at 2,806 locations. Shark's run included around 2,500 3D locations, and they accounted for 88 percent of its business. Apollohad the weakest launch yet for a "found-footage" horror movie, while Shark's bite wasn't even as big as the diminutive Piranha 3D's $3.6 million from last summer.

The Debt was relatively more impressive than the horror movies, even though it ranked fourth. The thriller collected an estimated $2.6 million on close to 1,900 screens at 1,826 locations, or around two-thirds of The American on the same Friday last year, and has tallied $4.5 million since its Wednesday debut.

Colombiana rounded out the Top Five with an estimated $2 million. Off 46 percent, the action thriller has made $16.6 million in eight days. As the weekend progresses, it should be neck-and-neck with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which generated an estimated $1.85 million. TheApes reboot fell only 29 percent and has rallied $154.1 million in 29 days.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark slipped further into oblivion, collapsing by 60 percent to an estimated $1.45 million for a $12.9 million tally in eight days. Our Idiot Brother held up better (down 41 percent) but was still insignificant with an estimated $1.42 million for an $11.7 million sum in eight days.

Meanwhile, golf drama Seven Days in Utopia was a miss with under $400,000 at 561 locations in its debut, and the re-rollout of Cars 2 stalled. The Pixar sequel took in an estimated $215,000 at 2,043 locations, or around half of Toy Story 3's re-expansion on the same Friday last year. With $187.7 million in 71 days, Cars 2 will be the first Pixar movie since A Bug's Life not to reach $200 million, and it's also the company's least-attended movie yet by a wide margin.