Saturday update:
It's as if the Grim Reaper himself reached out and tapped Warner/New Line's Final Destination franchise, with the fifth well-reviewed installment of the decade old series way under-performing pre-release projections and grossing just $7.3 million Friday, according to studio estimates.
That puts the $42 million R-rated horror sequel on pace for less than $18 million this weekend -- most pre-release estimates outside the studio fell in the $25 million - $30 million range.
Maybe, after the fourth Final Destination movie rode a challenged script to a huge $186.2 million global box-office over-performance in 2009, it was fate?
Fox's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is down a very standard 50 percent-plus this weekend from its big debut weekend, but the origins-themed sequel grossed $8.1 million Friday and will likely win the weekend with around $26 million. It also looks poised to pass the century mark in domestic revenue after two weekends.
DreamWorks/Disney's "The Help," meanwhile, grossed an estimated $7.6 million Friday. It probably won't meet three-day weekend forecasts of around $25 million. But the best-seller adaptation -- which premiered Wednesday -- will have more than $30 million in the bank by the end of Sunday.
With the overall box office up slightly from the same weekend last year -- 3 percent, according to one studio's tally -- two other new wide releases also missed their pre-release projections.
Sony's Ruben Fleisher-directed comedy "30 Minutes or Less" opened to an estimated $4.9 million Friday at 2,888 locations and will probably miss forecasts in the mid-to-high teens range. The R-rated film, shot on location in Grand Rapids, Mich., only cost around $20 million to make.
Fox's "Glee: 3D Concert Movie," meanwhile, also represents a rather inexpensive gambit -- it debuted to $2.7 million Friday and won't hit the $10 million $12 million range that had been projected for it.
TheWrap's full weekend box office report will arrive Sunday morning. Cancel any plans for family and spiritual observance to be there if you can.
Thursday preview:
The summer's not over, but the box office will look a little Fall-ish this weekend, with a Civil Rights-era drama, a horror-film sequel and several other niche titles hitting theaters.
But it is still, in fact, summer -- and neither Warner/New Line's teenager-fatality saga "Final Destination 5" nor DreamWorks' Emma Stone-led adaptation of the best-seller "The Help" are expected to beat the last tentpole released into the market, Fox's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," which could take in as much as $30 million after a huge $54.8 million start last weekend.
Also read: 'Final Destination 5' -- You Can Cheat Death, But You Can't Escape the Writing or Acting
Also debuting this weekend: "Zombieland" director Ruben Fleisher's latest action-comedy, "30 Minutes or Less," which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride and Nick Swardson; and "Glee: The 3D Concert Series" (which pretty much says it all in the title).
