A bit of a weird weekend at the box office. Three blockbusters - "Harry Potter," "Captain America" and "Cowboys & Aliens" - lost spots in the top 10. "The Help" surpassed "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" for the No. 1 spot. "The Help" must be quite a good movie to overtake a summer action film in the second week for both. I know one News-Herald movie reviewer who saw it this weekend and said he got a bit misty-eyed.

From The Associated Press:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “The Help,” $20.5 million. (Review by The AP's David Germain)
2. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” $16.3 million. (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros; "Movie simians rise to next level in new 'Apes' prequel" by Germain)
3. “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,” $12 million.
4. “Conan the Barbarian,” $10 million. (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire)
5. “Fright Night,” $8.3 million. (Review by Lemire)
6. “The Smurfs,” $8 million ($35.3 million international).
7. “Final Destination 5,” $7.7 million.
8. “30 Minutes or Less,” $6.3 million. (Review by Meszoros)
9. “One Day,” $5.1 million.
10. “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” $5 million. (Review by Lemire)

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl