Hurricane Box Office

So North American box office eats it due to inclement weather. Bummer.

But the animation/ mo cap pictures appear to be doing well. ...

... Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes entered its 4th weekend in release earning $2.5M and an estimated $8.5M weekend for a $148.3M cume ... The Smurfs (Sony Pictures) Week 5 [2,861 Theaters] Friday $1.2M, Estimated Weekend $4.2M, Estimated Cume $125.4M.

With the exception of Mr. Depp and a few other actors in certain roles, CGI is becoming the standard-issue driver for high and medium-budget Hollywood offerings. James Franco and Neil Patrick Harris are top-flight talents, but box office magnets? Not as much.

Naturally, there are exceptions to the CG rule. Neither Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig nor digital effects could hoist Cowboys and Aliens skyward. And the mediocre box office was probably the major reason Diz Co. hacked away at its budget immediately thereafter.

The new industry watch-word is: "Westerns is poison!"

Add On: And the L.A. Times informs us that The Help comes out on top again:

Hurricane Irene significantly dampened movie attendance this weekend, but "The Help" still managed to stay afloat.

After opening behind "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" upon its debut earlier this month, the buzzworthy film has now managed to claim the No. 1 spot at the box office two times in a row.