It’s pretty obvious that Hurricane Irene (which is battering the East Coast at the very moment, from North Carolina to Cape Cod) is going to have a huge effect on this weekend’s box office numbers. Some are predicting that studios and distribtutors will lose as much as $30 million because of the storm.

However, despite all that, Columbiana looks like it’s headed to be the No 2 film this weekend, coming after (what else?) The Help, with an estimated total of $11 million.

Now wait here folks… We’re not about to announce the winner of the “Guess Columbiana Opening Box Office” contest just yet. Things are very fluid, and anything can change; we will, of course, post the final numbers on Sunday. But all factors considered, $11 million is not bad at all.

And also keep in mind that the film is aimed more for the international market, especially in Europe and Latin America, so what it does in the U.S. is only a fraction of what the film will gross worldwide.. But one can only guess what its final weekend b.o. numbers would have been without that hurricane.

DAMN YOU MOTHER NATURE!