LOS ANGELES — The Help has stayed on the job over Labour Day, finishing as the No. 1 film for the third-straight weekend.
According to studio estimates Monday, the acclaimed drama about Southern black maids took in $19 million over the long holiday weekend.
That raised the film’s domestic to $123.4 million.
The Help has been a triumph amid a rush of late-summer duds to end Hollywood’s busiest season.
Best among the newcomers was Helen Mirren’s Holocaust-revenge thriller The Debt at No. 2 with $12.6 million from Friday to Monday.
The sci-fi horror tale Apollo 18 opened at No. 3 with $10.7 million. Another fright flick, Shark Night 3D, debuted at No. 4 with $10.3 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theatres:
1. The Help, $19 million.
2. The Debt, $12.6 million.
3. Apollo 18, $10.7 million.
4. Shark Night 3D, $10.3 million.
5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $10.25 million.
6. Colombiana, $9.4 million.
7. Our Idiot Brother, $7 million.
8. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, $6.6 million.
9. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, $6.1 million.
10. The Smurfs, $5.6 million.