Hurricane Irene forced the closure of theaters in big markets such as New York and kept moviegoers home along a broad stretch of the East Coast. Domestic ticket sales came in 23 percent lower than the same weekend a year earlier, according to figures from Hollywood.com.
“The Help,” a drama about black housekeepers in Civil Rights-era Mississippi, took the top spot in the North American (US and Canadian) market for the second straight weekend. The film adaptation of a best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett has grossed $96.6m since it opened three weeks ago, distributor Walt Disney Co said.
The bad weather did not help new releases on a weekend that was expected to be slow even without a major storm.
Action movie “Columbiana” debuted in second place with an estimated $10.3m, ahead of studio forecasts of around $8m. The film features actress Zoe Saldana as a woman who witnesses her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota and grows up to be an assassin seeking revenge.
“The picture is off to a good start, storm or no storm,” said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Columbia Pictures.
Horror movie “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, finished third with domestic sales of $8.7 million.
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