It was a very weak turnout at theatres across the U.S. this weekend, but whether this lull was due to Hurricane Irene or simply an uninspired crop of new releases remains to be seen. Probably a little bit of both. Even bad weather couldn’t keep The Help down, however, as it ended up on top for the second week in a row with another $15 million, putting it very close to crossing the $100 million mark. Colombiana starring Zoe Saldana was the strongest of the new releases, but with a $10 million debut it still may not actually break even. Guillermo del Toro’s name couldn’t help sell Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, which opened at #3 with just $8.69 million (and could fall to #4 when the final numbers come in). Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Our Idiot Brother rounded out the top 5, with the poor performance of the latter seemingly proving that audiences only want to see Paul Rudd as the straight man, not the buffoon. Looking ahead to next weekend’s releases, business will probably not be picking up anytime soon.

1. The Help — $14.3M
2. Colombiana — $10.3M
3. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark — $8.69M
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes — $8.65M
5. Our Idiot Brother — $6.59M
6. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D — $5.73M
7. The Smurfs — $4.8M
8. Conan the Barbarian — $3.1M
9. Fright Night — $3.03M
10. Crazy, Stupid, Love. — $2.9M