The local cineplex was a sick, sick place this weekend. Contagion, a film that some have surely been waiting for with feverish expectation, inspired moviegoers to cough up $23.1 million and took down The Help with nary a sniffle. Nothing like the threat of worldwide pandemic to cause folks to flock to the movie theaters.
For those who have seen or plan to see Contagion, let me offer just a word of warning: The guy who reviewed the movie and the guy who edited the review are both out sick this morning.
For those feelin’ a little sad about The Help’s fall from the top of the box office, don’t despair: It still made $8.7 million and held on to second place. And it’s been firmly ensconced in either the No. 1 or 2 spot for the last five weeks—the first time that’s happened since a little movie called Avatar was in theaters.
Warrior, a gritty mixed martial arts tale aggressively marketed toward Christian audiences, landed in third place with $5.6 million—a disappointing take for this Tom Hardy vehicle. Personally, I think Warrior deserved a better first-weekend fate: Sure, the film had its problems. But it was a pretty resonant take on a broken family navigating a very fallen world.
The Debt and Colombiana, both holdovers from last week, rounded out the top five. Indeed, you have to scroll all the way down to No. 15 before stumbling across another wide-release newcomer—the horribly misnamed Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star. The porn-themed comedy garnered less than $1.5 million on 1,500 screens nationwide and a 0% “freshness” rating on rottentomatoes.com. Clearly, Bucky Larson was not born to be a star.
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