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The Help

Opening on Wednesday for no discernible reason, best-seller adaptation The Help earned $7.6 million on Friday after a Wednesday-through-Thursday take of about $10 million. It's second on Friday, not very far behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the Wednesday opening probably prevented it from opening on top. It'll still be pretty close when the weekend estimates come in, and there's been a surprising dearth of chick-lit adaptation this year, with Water for Elephants probably being the last good example. It should end up just behind Planet of the Apes with $22 million for the weekend, and about $32 million in five days.

Final Destination 5

Final Destination 5: Now Even More Finaler is third on Friday with $7.2 million. This is a step back from 2009's The Final Destination, which opened with $10.8 million in the last weekend of August, which was probably fueled largely by a 3D gimmick. It's actually identical to the opening day of Final Destination 3, which was in February 2006. That had a 2.66 multiplier for its weekend and Final Destination 4 had a 2.52, so there's no reason to think this doesn't end up right in that wheelhouse as well. That would be a weekend of $18.7 million.

30 Minutes or Less

Another R-rated comedy in a year full of them, 30 Minutes or Less comes in with $4.8 million, as box office for these movies continues to disappoint as the summer goes on, though it's just a hair better than The Change-Up from last weekend. It should probably duplicate that film's performance over Saturday and Sunday, giving it $13.6 million for the weekend.

Glee the 3D Concert Movie

Finally, the film adaptation of the TV show that literally dozens of people were asking for opened to $2.7 million on Friday. Justin Bieber this is not. Heck, it's not even the Jonas Brothers, who managed a $4.9 million opening night for their concert film. Give it about $7 million for the weekend, if it's lucky.

Notable Holdovers

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is still on top of Friday with $8 million, off 59% from last Friday. That's a little better than the 2001 version of the film did, when it dropped 66% in its second Friday. It's neck and neck with The Help right now, but I'm pretty sure the apes will stay on top for a second weekend with $24.4 million.

Projected Estimates for the Top Ten (Three-Day)
Projected Rank	Film	Estimated Gross
1	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	24.4
2	The Help	22.0
3	Final Destination 5	18.7
4	30 Minutes or Less	13.6
5	The Smurfs	12.8
6	Cowboys & Aliens	7.4
7	Glee The 3D Concert Movie	6.9
8	Captain America: The First Avenger	6.8
9	Crazy, Stupid, Love	6.7
10	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2	6.7