Actor James Franco arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on July 28, 2011. AFP FILE PHOTO
LOS ANGELES—”Rise of the Planet of the Apes” dangled from the top spot in the North American box office for a second consecutive weekend, raking in $27.8 million, industry estimates showed Monday.
Although the earnings marked a 50 percent drop from last weekend, the prequel to the 1968 classic “Planet of the Apes” still brought a total of $105.2 million after 10 days, according to earnings tracker Exhibitor Relations.
In a surprise second was the screen adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 debut novel “The Help,” a 1960s period film about African-American maids working for white households in Jackson, Mississippi.
The movie, which opened Wednesday, earned $26 million over the weekend for a total take of $35.9 million so far.
The sardonic “Final Destination 5,” a dark comedy in which good-looking young people are methodically killed off in graphic detail, debuted in third place.
The fifth installment of the once-innovative franchise in which teens cheat death only to have the Grim Reaper come clawing back to claim them, sold a less-than-expected $18 million in tickets.
“The Smurfs” fell from second to fourth in their third week, with a take of $13.3 million.
The live-action and animated film, starring Neil Patrick Harris and featuring the voice of pop star Katy Perry as Smurfette, so far has generated an estimated $101.8 million in North American sales.
Fifth place went to “30 Minutes or Less,” starring Jesse Eisenberg of “The Social Network” as a pizza delivery guy kidnapped by fledgling criminals who strap a bomb to his chest and order him to rob a bank. It earned $13.3 million.
Action thriller “Cowboys & Aliens” starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, marked its third week in theaters with $7.8 million in ticket sales, slipping from third to sixth place.
The eighth and final installment of the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2,” came in seventh place.
The blockbuster about the boy wizard took in $7.25 million in its fifth week, after breaking multiple box office records and soaring past $1 billion in global sales.
“Captain America: The First Avenger” with Chris Evans starring as a superhero dedicated to defending American ideals, with the eighth biggest earning movie, with $7.2 million in sales.
Dropping two spots to ninth was the romantic comedy “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” with a take of $7 million.
Tenth place was claimed by the comedy date flick “The Change-Up,” selling $6.3 million in movie seats.