'The Help' retains US box office lead with $14.5m

Civil rights comedy-drama The Help has topped the US box office for the second weekend in a row.

Despite a large number of East Coast theaters being forced to close ready for Hurricane Irene, the Emma Stone-led adaptation still took an estimated domestic total of $14.3m.

Oliver Megaton's latest action film Colombiana, starring Zoe Saldana, opened in second place with $10.3m, followed by the Guillermo del Toro-penned horror Don't Be Afraid of the Dark with $8.7m.

Former box-office topper Rise of the Planet of the Apes fell to fourth place this week with $8.65m, while comedy Our Idiot Brother rounded out the top five films of the weekend with $6.6m.

This week's US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):

1. (1) The Help - $14,300,000
2. (-) Colombiana - $10,300,000
3. (-) Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - $8,700,000
4. (2) Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $8,650,000
5. (-) Our Idiot Brother - $6,600,000
6. (3) Spy Kids: All the Time in the World - $5,727,000
7. (6) The Smurfs - $4,800,000
8. (4) Conan the Barbarian - $3,100,000
9. (5) Fright Night - $3,029,000
10. (10) Crazy, Stupid, Love - £2,905,000

Watch the trailer for The Help below: