Inception Keeps Dreaming Bigger At The Box Office

For the second straight week Christopher Nolan’s dreamy puzzle Inception proved too tough to tame at the box office. A weekend haul of $43.5 million was enough to maintain the top spot and brought its two-week total to an impressive $144 million. Needless to say, this is excellent news for moviegoers who enjoy challenging films that sway from the normal cookie-cutter summer offerings.

Angelina Jolie’s CIA agent on the run actioner Salt opened in second-place with $36.5 million and Despicable Me continued to post solid earnings with a take of $24.1 million. Kid flick Romona and Beezus, an early favorite for worst title of the year, registered a respectable $8 million.

Here’s how the Top 10 stacked up (Via Box Office Mojo):

1. Inception – $43.5 million

2. Salt – $36.5 million

3. Despicable Me – $24.1 million

4. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – $9.69 million

5. Toy Story 3 – $9.03 million

6. Romona and Beezus – $8 million

7. Grown Ups – $7.6 million

8. Twilight: Eclipse – $7.03 million

9. The Last Airbender – $4.17 million

10. Predators – $2.85 million

Toy Story 3 has a shot at $400 million domestically, although it might take another three weeks to get there. Meanwhile, both The Last Airbender and Predators haven’t performed strong enough to warrant sequels, but I would imagine at least one will get a second chapter.

New to multiplexes on Friday are Dinner for Schmucks, Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and Charlie St. Cloud. Hmm… Steve Carell not being funny, cats and dogs playing spies or Zac Efron having a catch with his dead brother. Looks like I’ll be saving some cash this week.