'Help' Posts Longest Daily No. 1 Run Since 'Sixth Sense'
As of Thursday, The Help has topped the box office for 25 days in a row. That marked the longest uninterrupted streak since The Sixth Sense spent 35 days in first place in late summer 1999. Meet the Parents had the previous best post-Sixth Sense run at 24 days. With Contagionopening today, The Help's streak will almost certainly come to an end.
In the nearly ten years that Box Office Mojo has comprehensively tracked daily data, only three other movies have held the top spot for over three straight weeks. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was in first from Dec. 19, 2001 to Jan. 10, 2002, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King took the crown from Dec. 17, 2003 to Jan. 8, 2004, and The Passion of the Christ reigned from Feb. 25, 2004 to March 18, 2004. Each of these movies opened on a Wednesday and was in first for 23 days.
While all of these movies were extremely successful, streaks like this are more connected to the time of year and competition than the performance of the movie in question. For example, if it hadn't been for strong opening days from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,Sherlock Holmes and The Book of Eli, Avatar would have held on to the top spot for 49 straight days. In The Help's case, it can thank anemic performances from late summer releases like Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Conan the Barbarian, Fright Night, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D.
The Help has tallied $128.4 million in 30 days. It led its first two days before yielding to Rise of the Planet of the Apes each day of the Aug. 12-14 weekend. Its current streak began on Monday, Aug. 15, and continued through Thursday, Sept. 8.
