'Contagion' sweeps through the weekend box office

"Contagion" infected the box office this weekend, producing the largest box office gross in a month to take the number one spot.

"Contagion" grossed $23.1 million.

The Steven Soderbergh-directed ensemble thriller earned an estimated $23.1 million in its debut weekend, the largest three-day total since the weekend of Aug. 12, during which "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" earned $27.5 million in its second week.

Since that time, there have been significantly more box office failures than successes, with the lone bright spot being "The Help," which dropped to number two this weekend after three straight weeks in the top spot. The film earned $8.7 million in its fifth week in theaters for a total of $137 million.

The mix-martial arts drama "Warrior" didn't have much of a punch, earning $5.6 million in its debut weekend, the only other newcomer to make it into the top 10.

Last week's number two film, "The Debt," fell to number four with $4.9 million and a total of $21 million.

"Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star," the other wide release of the weekend, utterly failed to shine, finishing with $1.4 million in 15th place. It's notable that the limited release "Laugh at My Pain" outdrew "Bucky Larson" with $2 million in only 97 theaters compared to the latter's 1,977

The weekend's top 10 grossing films according to studio estimates were: 

1. "Contagion," $23,135,000 (New)
2. "The Help," $8,691,000 (Total: $137 million)
3. "Warrior," $5,607,000 (New) 
4. "The Debt," $4,905,000 (Total: $21.9 million)
5. "Colombiana," $4,000,000 ($29.7 million)
6. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," $3,875,000 (Total: $167.8 million) 
7. "Shark Night 3D," $3,533,000 ($14.8 million)  
8. "Apollo 18," $2,913,000 ($15 million)
9. "Our Idiot Brother," $2,761,000 ($21.4 million)
10. "Sky Kids: All the Time in the World," $2,506,000 ($34.2 million)