As Headline Planet noted was possible early Saturday, “Inception” overcame its defeat on Friday to win the weekend box office for a third straight week.
The film ended up outpacing new release “Dinner for Schmucks,” claiming the weekend with an estimated $27.5 million. “Schmucks,” after starting at number one on Friday, fell to second with $23.3 million, a figure right within the realm of expectations.
The other new releases were not as successful, with both registering weekends in the low teens. “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” placed fifth on a disappointing $12.5 million, while “Charlie St. Cloud” proved that its Friday take, uninspired as it was, benefit from a front-loaded audience; its final weekend total came in at $12.1 million.
In between “Schmucks” and “Cats” were “Salt” ($19.5 million) and “Despicable Me” ($15.5 million).
Weekend Top Ten:
1) Inception – $27.5M ($193.3M)
2) Dinner for Schmucks – $23.3M
3) Salt – $19.5M ($70.8M)
4) Despicable Me – $15.5M ($190.3M)
5) Cats & Dogs 2 -$12.5M
6) Charlie St. Cloud – $12.1M
7) Toy Story 3 – $5M ($389.7M)
8) Grown Ups – $4.5M ($150.7M)
9) The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – $4.3M ($51.9M)
10) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – $4.0M ($288.2M)