While the big budget films dominated the cash at the box office, two movies with measly budgets in comparison that nobody expected to do well, soared beyond expectations.

Bridesmaids started the summer off well with a $26 million opening and it played strong all summer long. It has now made $168 million and is number 9 on the top grossing US films of the year. It has also grossed $122 million overseas bringing its total to $281 million. And the budget was only $32 million. All the other movies in the top ten except for The Hangover (which cost $80 million) cost over $100 million (and many over $150 million) to make, so at the end of the day Bridesmaids will have a huge profit margin.

The Help is already at number 16 grossing over $123 million and it has been open not even a month. It has been the top grossing film at the box office for three weeks in a row and the last film that was number 1 for three weeks in a row (according to Box Office Mojo) was Inception.

It’s already beat both The Green Lantern and The Green Hornet and the Harrison Ford-Daniel Craig starrer Cowboys and Aliens. The Green Lantern cost $200 million, The Green Hornet cost $120 million, Cowboys and Aliens cost $163 million. The budget for The Help — $25 million.

This film will play for at least the next month or two (if not more) since the only wide release competition will be Sarah Jessica Parker’s I Don’t Know How She Does It. (I have not yet seen the film or heard any buzz about it and it is opening in 10 days. Sarah Jessica Parker will be interviewed by Katie Couric tonight on Nightline.) The Help is just beginning its run overseas.

Also scoring was Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher which is about to cross the $100 million mark in the US and has made over $100 million overseas. And that movie cost only $20 million. So Cameron should be back on everyone’s A list.

And on another note, Jessica Chastain stars in the top two films of the week — The Help and The Debt.
Weekend Report: ‘The Help’ Works It Over Labor Day (Box Office Mojo)

Did Jessica Chastain’s role in ‘The Help’ pay off for ‘The Debt’? (LA Times)

(All box office figures from Box Office Mojo)