‘Inception’ Holds On To Top Spot For Third Week
Three new releases couldn’t break the dreamy hold “Inception” has on American moviegoers, winning the box office race for the third week in a row with an estimated $27.5 million. Christopher Nolan’s latest has brought in over $193 million domestically, with a large chunk coming from both IMAX viewings (an estimated 12 percent total) and repeat business.
The Steve Carell / Paul Rudd farce “Dinner For Schmucks” fared best against the dreamscape with $23.3 million, good enough for second place. While word of mouth was good on “Schmucks,” the reports aren’t as kind for the other freshmen this week: “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” landed in fifth place with a $12.5 million thud and low audience scores; “Charlie St. Cloud,” in sixth place with $12.1 million, might have resonated with the Nicholas Sparks crowd, but few others.
Last week’s second-place film, Angelina Jolie’s “Salt,” dropped by 46 percent and down to third with $19.2 million.
Here’s the week’s top ten, courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com:
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Weekend Gross | % Change | Total Gross | Week # |
| 1 | 1 | Inception | $27,520,000 | -35.6% | $193,348,000 | 3 |
| 2 | N | Dinner for Schmucks | $23,300,000 | - | $23,300,000 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 | Salt | $19,250,000 | -46.5% | $70,800,000 | 2 |
| 4 | 3 | Despicable Me | $15,543,000 | -34.4% | $190,349,000 | 4 |
| 5 | N | Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore |
$12,525,000 | - | $12,525,000 | 1 |
| 6 | N | Charlie St. Cloud | $12,136,000 | - | $12,136,000 | 1 |
| 7 | 5 | Toy Story 3 | $5,035,000 | -43.5% | $389,674,000 | 7 |
| 8 | 7 | Grown Ups | $4,500,000 | -39.4% | $150,713,000 | 6 |
| 9 | 4 | The Sorcerer’s Apprentice | $4,320,000 | -55.2% | $51,881,000 | 3 |
| 10 | 8 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | $3,965,000 | -44.8% | $288,200,000 | 5 |
