Hurricane Irene stymies B.O. predictions

'The Help'While Disney's "The AssistanceInch looks to keep within the No. 1 place, Hurricane Irene is making weekend box office forecasts tough. Many New England theaters stated they'd shutter over the past weekend, including Clearview Movie theaters, that was likely to close its 18 Gotham, two Pennsylvania and 25 Nj locations Saturday or sunday, based on a contact to staff. The theater chain intends to reopen its locations Monday and it has not introduced intends to close any locations tonight. New You are able to alone comprises 6% from the nation's box office market, along with other theater chains are watching the elements carefully to find out their plans. While AMC Theaters introduced closings of two theaters in Virginia, a repetition for the organization told Variety that executives in the plex chain are carefully monitoring the problem and therefore are making closure choices on the theater-by-theater basis. AMC intends to publish all closings to its website at AMCtheaters.com/hurricaneirene. The hurricane's sweep with the New England has made the typical weekend B.O. scene unpredictable. B.O. experts stated they remain confident on top place -- with "The AssistanceInch leading the frame -- but the other berths are not as easy to call. The Weinstein Company's "Our Idiot Brother" and Sony's "Columbiana" turn to function as the nearest photos, tugging in front of FilmDistrict's "You Shouldn't Be Scared of the Dark." Pre-hurricane, B.O. viewers had stated that the film would need to pull in $15 million to become this frame's top-grosser. Due to the elements, however, that number is searching nearer to $tens of millions of-$11 million. Contact Rachel Abrams at Rachel.Abrams@variety.com