Hurricane Irene Slashes Weekend Openings

Hurricane Irene, the biggest storm to hit the East Coast of the United States in over 100 years, has significantly lowered the opening weekend box office tallies for a number of new films. As much as 40% of the country has been directly affected by the storm, which effectively closed theaters for much of the weekend (and will continue to keep them closed due to large scale power outages). Hardest hit have been the films that officially opened theatrically last Friday, for whom the opening weekend was most crucial. Among the films feeling the pinch are the comedy OUR IDIOT BROTHER, the horror remake DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, as well as the indie titles AMIGO (the newest from John Sayles), HIGHER GROUND (the directorial debut of Vera Farmiga), the UK crime film BRIGHTON ROCK, the Iranian lesbian story CIRCUMSTANCE, the dysfunctional family dramedy THE FAMILY TREE, the documentary expose FINDING MADOFF and the low-budget STRIPPED DOWN. Box office receipts across the board for even major summer hits as THE HELP have taken a nosedive. Just consider this past weekend a water-logged washout.

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