In a clashing of new Hollywood formulas versus old Hollywood formulas, Chris Nolan’s high-concept, narrative-bending Inception dropped a lean 30 percent to $43.5 million while Sony’s star-driven actioner Salt grossed optimistically moderate numbers ($36.5 million). The studio is hoping for a solid holdover, considering the next straight action film to hit theaters is The Expendables on August 13th, Jolie’s face/body and Inception‘s eventual fade out.
Speaking of solid holdovers, Despicable Me has gone from surprise hit to the newest “soon-to-be-very lucrative” animated franchise, dipping only %26.5 to $24.5 million, grossing over $160 million in only 17 days. Toy Story 3 dropped about as much, soon to become Pixar’s first $400 million movie.
Jerry Bruckheimer‘s fourth bomb in a row, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, may just be his worst, tacking on $10 million to make a ridiculously unimpressive $42 million gross in 10 days.
In the limited market, The Kids Are All Right has officially established itself as an indie darling, picking up where Cyrus is leaving off. It’s great to see an off-beat talent like Lisa Cholodenko (High Art, Laurel Canyon) with some recognition. In other wide release news, Ramona and Beezus grossed a “just fine” $8 million off of a $15 million budget and next-to-no print and advertising.
Check out the top 10 (weekend-total; gross):
1. Inception – $43,505,000; $143,663,000
2. Salt – $36,500,000 (debut)
3. Despicable Me – $24,100,000; $161,700,000
4. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – $9,685,000; $42,643,000
5. Toy Story 3 – $9,030,000; $379,529,000
6. Ramona and Beezus – $8,000,000 (debut)
7. Grown Ups – $7,600,000; $142,412,000
8. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – $7,033,000; $279,674,000
9. The Last Airbender – $4,173,000; $123,264,000
10. Predators – $2,850,000; $46,568,000
11. The Kids Are All Right – $2,648,000; $4,963,000
Have you seen Cyrus yet? Which of these have you enjoyed?