Box office report for Aug. 29, 2011: "The Help" stays afloat in top spot as Hurricane Irene blows through

"THE HELP" TH-093R Best friends Aibileen Clark (Academy Award® nominee Viola Davis, center) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer, right) share a special moment in DreamWorks Pictures’ inspiring drama, “The Help,” based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett. “The Help” is written for the screen and directed by Tate Taylor, with Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan producing. Ph: Dale Robinette ©DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

“The Help” swept to the top of the box-office charts for the second weekend in a row, even as many remaining East Coast theaters closed as Hurricane Irene blew through, reports the Associated Press. The movie adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel needed just $14.5 million to retain the top spot, even with the opening of three new movies – the Sony actioner “Columbiana,” FilmDistrict’s horror remake “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark” and the Weinstein Co. comedy “Our Idiot Brother.”

Business was strong Friday night for “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” in the New York City area, but as the storm crept closer Saturday, theaters either closed or became ghost towns,  Bob Berney, FilmDistrict’s Oklahoma City-born head of distribution, told the AP.

Berney said he stopped by a theater complex in suburban Westchester County Saturday night and only about 25 people had turned out for 7:30 p.m. shows.

“It was just dead,” Berney said. “They were open but no one was there, whereas in Manhattan, I think all the theaters were closed.”