INSERTION OF SCHMUCKS DOESN’T SPOIL INCEPTION‘S DREAM

In its third weekend, Warner Bros.’ Inception was dazed temporarily on Friday as Paramount’s Dinner for Schmucks edged it out at the box office, but it came around on Saturday and Sunday to remain the top film for the third weekend in a row with an estimated $27.5 million, down just 36 percent from the previous week. Schmucks wound up with about $23.3 million, in line with expectations. Two other new films, however, fared poorly. Giving Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore a 3D treatment did not pay off for Warner Bros. Despite the surcharge, the movie earned just $12.5 million — the poorest opening yet for a digital 3D flick — to place fifth. Meanwhile, Charlie St. Cloud with Zac Efron turned out to be no High School Musical as it opened in sixth place with $12.1 million. (Two years ago, High School Musical 3, starring Efron, opened with $42 million.) As for the holdovers, Sony/Columbia’s Salt sold plenty of popcorn in its second weekend, pulling in around $19.3 million and bringing its total gross to $70.8 million. And, in its fifth weekend, Universal’s Despicable Me was still holding on to fourth place with $15.5 million, a drop of just 34 percent from last weekend, to bring its total to $190.3 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:
1. Inception, $27.5 million; 2. Dinner for Schmucks, $23.3 million; 3. Salt, $19.3 million; 4. Despicable Me, $15.5 million; 5. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, $12.5 million; 6. Charlie St. Cloud, $12.1 million; 7. Toy Story 3, $5 million; 8. Grown Ups, $4.5 million; 9. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, $4.3 million; 10. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, $4 million.

UPDATE: Final results aligned the top five films this way: 1: Inception, $27,485,245; 2. Dinner for Schmucks, $23,527,839; 3. Salt, $19,471,355; 4. Despicable Me, $15,524,230; 5. Charlie St. Cloud, $12,381,585.