'Planet of the Apes' prequel holds off drama 'The Help'

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rebellious apes have held off Southern maids for a narrow win at the weekend box office.

Studio estimates Sunday pegged "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" at $27.5 million, good enough for its second-straight No. 1 finish. The 20th Century Fox release raised its 10-day domestic total to $104.9 million.

The "Planet of the Apes" prequel came in just ahead of "The Help," a drama about Mississippi maids during the civil-rights movement that debuted at No. 2 with $25.5 million. "The Help," a DreamWorks release distributed by Disney, has taken in $35.4 million domestically since opening Wednesday.

The Warner Bros. horror sequel "Final Destination 5," the latest in the franchise where death stalks victims who had been fated to die earlier, opened at No. 3 with $18.4 million.

The weekend's other two new wide releases had soft openings. Sony's action comedy "30 Minutes or Less," starring Jesse Eisenberg as a pizza deliveryman forced to help rob a bank, was No. 5 with $13 million, just behind Sony's surprise animated smash "The Smurfs," which slipped to fourth-place with $13.5 million and lifted its three-week total to $101.5 million.

The singers from TV's "Glee" failed to find a big-screen audience as 20th Century Fox's "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie" opened outside the top-10, finishing at No. 11 with just $5.7 million. The concert film was shot during the cast's recent North American tour.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "The Help" have exceeded their studios' early box-office expectations. Both received strong reviews, "Apes" for surprising drama amid dazzling visual effects to create the simians, "The Help" for great performances from Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and their co-stars in the adaptation of the best-seller about black maids who go public with stories about working for often racist white employers.

The "Apes" prequel added $40.5 million overseas, raising its international total to $75 million and worldwide haul to nearly $180 million.

Female crowds made up 74 percent of the audience for "The Help," and 60 percent of viewers were older than 35. That's a sign "The Help" could have a long shelf life at theaters, since women and older audiences tend to get drawn to films through word-of-mouth rather than rushing out over opening weekend the way young crowds do.

"The Help" already has far outpaced the $20 million Disney executives hoped for over the first five days, and the film is playing strongly in both urban and middle America markets, said Dave Hollis, the studio's head of distribution.

"The Smurfs" also has outstripped expectations. The family hit added $60 million overseas to raise its worldwide total to $242 million, and Sony announced a sequel over the past week.

Box office tally:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com:

1. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," $27.5 million

2. "The Help," $25.5 million

3. "Final Destination 5," $18.4 million

4. "The Smurfs," $13.5 million

5. "30 Minutes or Less," $13 million

6. "Cowboys & Aliens," $7.6 million

7. "Captain America: The First Avenger," $7.1 million

8. "Crazy, Stupid, Love," $6.93 million

9. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," $6.9 million

10. "The Change-Up," $6.2 million