The final weekend of the summer movie season fell in favor of “The Last Exorcism,” which narrowly edged “Takers” at the box office, according to early estimates.
“Exorcism” grossed $21.3 million, which, if estimates hold up, will give it the close victory over “Takers” ($21 million). “The Expendables,” which had won the two prior weekends, slipped to third with $9.5 million.
“Eat Pray Love” ($7 million) and “The Other Guys” ($6.6 million) rounded out the top five.
In addition to “Exorcism” and “Takers,” “Avatar: Special Edition” also opened at the box office. On 812 screens (about 1/3 of a normal wide release), the film earned $4 million in box office receipts, good enough for a twelfth place finish.
Weekend Top Ten:
1) The Last Exorcism – $21.3M
2) Takers – $21M
3) The Expendables – $9.5M ($82M)
4) Eat Pray Love – $7M ($60.7M)
5) The Other Guys – $6.6M ($99.3M)
6) Vampires Suck – $5.3M ($27.9M)
7) Inception – $5.1M ($270.7M)
8) Nanny McPhee Returns – $4.7M ($17M)
9) The Switch – $4.7M ($16.5M)
10) Piranha 3D – $4.3M ($18.3M)