There weren’t too many surprises at the box-office this weekend, except for the fact that Inception is still in the top ten. The Ben Affleck-directed The Town, the second consecutive well-executed film by the actor who is transforming into a formidable director, opened at the top with $23.8 million. Easy A, buoyed by the charm of Emma Stone and its likable story, came in second with $18.2 million.

Devil – despite the incredibly annoying trailers of that woman yelling for someone to “Turn on the liiiiiiiiiights!” – still looks intriguing, and plenty of other people thought so, too. The M. Night Shyamalan-produced film (which was probably cause enough for some people to stay away) opened with $12.6 million. The other major release this week – a 3D animated film entitled Alpha and Omega – disappointed by making only $9.2 million. If you despise 3D like I do, this is a small victory.

Like I said before, Inception is still in the top ten, coming in eighth with $2.02 million, bringing its total to $285 million. With the way it’s been chugging along, the movie has an outside shot at making $300 million in the United States.

Here are the rest of the weekend box office numbers:

1. The Town – $23.8 M (new)

2. Easy A – $18.2 M (new)

3. Devil – $12.6 M (new)

4. Resident Evil: Afterlife – $10.1 M ($44 M)

5. Alpha and Omega – $9.2 M (new)

6. Takers – $3 M ($52.3 M)

7. The American – $2.76 M ($32.9 M)

8. Inception – $2.02 M ($285 M)

9. The Other Guys – $2 M ($115 M)

10. Eat Pray Love – $1.7 M ($77.7 M)

Not much to report from the weak Labor Day box office results. Except this:

1. The American – $16.4 million

2. Machete – $14 million

Ha, ha. Take that you dirty illegal job-stealing wetbacks! I’m kidding, of course. I eat Taco Bell at least twice a month, so obviously I love Mexicans.

Normally, this post is the standard rundown of the weekend box office totals. Ya know, the kind you’ll find at every other movie/entertainment site. To be honest, I find those to be boring as hell, so I’m doing away with it, at least for this week. If you really want to see the numbers, then visit our pals at Box Office Mojo.

The Last Exorcism and Takers finished in a virtual tie with $21 million this past weekend. A blatant rip-off of The Exorcist and a run-of-the-mill cops versus robbers heist flick. Neither film was backed by a heavy marketing campaign and yet each earned an impressive figure, despite paltry production budgets. Exorcism was made for $1.8 million and Takers cost $20 million, which means both are already in the black, and in the case of Exorcism, is a massive hit.

This continues a slightly strange August pattern that began when the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg cop comedy The Other Guys opened with a surprising $35 million, which dwarfed other high-profile summer laughers like Dinner for Schmucks and MacGruber.

The following weekend, Sly Stallone’s man cave movie The Expendables blasted the competition with a haul of nearly $35 million, beating out Julia Roberts’ latest chick flick Eat Pray Love and internet sensation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Its hefty gross also smashed other tentpole summer action flicks like Prince of Persia, The A-Team, Knight and Day and Predators. Hmm…

What to make of this topsy-turvy month? Probably not too much, although I imagine a lot of studio execs are pulling out their hairplugs trying to figure out what went wrong. All in all, and not just in August, lower budgets ruled the summer. The Karate Kid, Twilight: Eclipse, Grown Ups, Despicable Me and The Expendables were all made for under $100 million and all five have or will eclipse that figure in earnings.

Meanwhile, Sex and the City 2, Prince of Persia, The A-Team, Knight and Day, The Last Airbender and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice boasted $100 million-plus price tags and none surpassed that total, at least domestically. If you eliminate Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3, Shrek Forever After and Inception — which were all can’t misses — from the summer equation, smaller movies had a great showing, including indie fare such as The Kids Are All Right, Winter’s Bone and the aforementioned The Last Exorcism.

Does this mean producers will start pinching pennies across the board? Not likely. Even though studios keep crying poverty due to the stagnant economy, skyrocketing budgets are here to stay. However, it will be interesting to see if the less is more pattern carries over into autumn.

Five new flicks hit theaters this past weekend, but none of them were tough enough to bounce Sly Stallone’s manly man action-adventure The Expendables from the top spot at the box office. A haul of $16.5 million was all it took to win the weekend race as audiences steered clear of theaters.

In second-place, the utterly unwatchable “comedy” Vampires Suck managed to squeeze $12.2 million from the dumber portions of the population and since opening last Wednesday has nearly earned back its $20 million budget. America should be ashamed because talentless writer/directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer will once again be allowed to make another cliche-filled spoof that will drive anyone with an iota of taste to suicide.

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

1. The Expendables – $16.5 million

2. Vampires Suck – $12.2 million

3. Eat Pray Love – $12 million

4. Lottery Ticket – $11.1 million

5. The Other Guys – $10.1 million

6. Piranha 3D – $10 million

7. Nanny McPhee Returns – $8.3 million

8. The Switch – $8.1 million

9. Inception – $7.65 million

10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – $5 million

Eat Pray Love held steady while Piranha 3D failed to scare up many fans. Scott Pilgrim plummeted to tenth after a disappointing opening proving that critical success means very little. Despite the monetary failure, I predict a substantial cult following emerging over the next few years as more and more people discover its charms.

As the summer winds down only two new offerings will be made available this week. The Last Exorcism will attempt to tarnish Satan’s already spotty reputation and Takers will attempt to conjure the same cops vs. bank robbers magic as Heat. Looks like we’re in store for more quiet returns.

Sly Stallone flexed his bulging biceps at the box office this weekend. His steroid infused let’s blow sh*t up and kill lots of baddies flick The Expendables crushed all comers with a hefty haul of $35 million. The detestable rich bitch travels east to find herself Eat Pray Love starring Julia Roberts secured second-place with a solid $23.7 million, proving women in the throws of a mid-life crisis are desperate for cheap, unrealistic inspiration.

Meanwhile, no amount of positive internet buzz could save Scott Pilgrim vs. the World from getting knocked on its ass. It opened in fifth-place with a disappointing $10.5 million. I never heard of the comic book it was based on before six months ago. I guess I wasn’t alone.

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

1. The Expendables – $35 million

2. Eat Pray Love – $23.7 million

3. The Other Guys – $18 million

4. Inception – $11.3 million

5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – $10.5 million

6. Despicable Me – $6.7 million

7. Step Up 3D – $6.6 million

8. Salt – $6.35 million

9. Dinner for Schmucks – $6.3 million

10. Cats and Dogs: Blah Blah Blah – $4 million

The Other Guys suffered a 50% drop in its second week, but still managed to gross a respectable figure. Step Up 3D has already earned back its budget, so good news for one of the summer’s most pointless sequels.

New this week, Vampires Suck, a completely unwatchable Twilight parody will drop Wednesday. On Friday, three new offerings will be available for your choosing: Lottery Ticket, The Tillman Story and Piranha 3D. A comedy starring rapper turned actor Bow Wow, a serious documentary about a true American hero and a B-horror remake starring fish with pointy teeth. That’s what I call variety.

Inception‘s three-week reign atop the box office has come to an end. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s buddy cop comedy The Other Guys took the prize with an estimated $35.6 million take, which was nearly double Inception‘s second-place haul of $18.6 million. The most pointless 3D flick of the year, Step Up 3D, grabbed the third spot with $15.5 million.

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

1. The Other Guys – $35.6 million

2. Inception – $18.6 million

3. Step Up 3D – $15.5 million

4. Salt – $11.1 million

5. Dinner for Schmucks – $10.5 million

6. Despicable Me – $9.4 million

7. Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore – $6.9 million

8. Charlie St. Cloud – $4.7 million

9. Toy Story 3 – $3 million

10. The Kids Are All Right – $2.6 million

Despite its slip, Inception has still eclipsed the $200 million mark in domestic receipts and now sits in 6th place among 2010 films. Meanwhile, The Kids Are All Right continues to climb the charts in its second week in wide release. The lesbian dramedy should end the summer as one of the surprise hits.

There will be something for everyone at the box office on Friday as three new movies are set to hit theaters: Julia Roberts finds herself in the self-indulgent Eat Pray Love, Michael Cera battles ex-boyfriends in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Sly Stallone and a bevy of old and new action stars blow sh*t up in The Expendables. I’ll probably check out Sly and Co., but Scott Pilgrim is gaining a ton of buzz since Comic-Con.

Moviegoers deserve a hand. Dinner for Schmucks seemed ripe to seize the top spot at the box office, but for a third straight week smart filmmaking trumped dumb filmmaking and Inception once again wins out with a $27.5 million haul. Schmucks finished in second with $23.3 million, which for a PG-13 comedy with a budget of $60 million is respectable, just not overwhelming.

Angelina Jolie’s spy game thriller Salt rounded out the top three with $19.2 million. Meanwhile,  Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and the Zac Efron melodrama Charlie St. Cloud both had disappointing opening weekends, finishing in fifth and sixth respectively.

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

1. Inception - $27. 5 million

2. Dinner for Schmucks – $23. 3 million

3. Salt – $19.2 million

4. Despicable Me – $15.5 million

5. Cats and Dogs – $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. Twilight: Eclipse – $3.9 million

Despicable Me has to be the surprise hit of the summer; it should surpass the $200 million mark after next weekend. Inception will do the same and its worldwide gross of $363 million will do wonders for Christopher Nolan’s reputation as a bankable director.

Slim pickings this week at theaters as Step Up 3D, The Other Guys and Middle Men all open to little fanfare. Although, Middle Men is about the rise of internet porn, so I’ll definitely be checking it out, for research purposes only.

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.

The combination of Steve Carell’s voice and an animated kids story proved to be too tough to handle at the weekend box office. Universal’s under-hyped Despicable Me crushed the competition by hauling in $60 million since Friday. Slipping into second place was Twilight: Eclipse with $33.4 million, which brought its two-week total to more than $237 million.

Meanwhile, the other new release, the R-rated Predators, tallied a respectable $25 million, which should make producers happy considering it was shot on a budget of $40 million. Toy Story 3 has surpassed Iron Man 2 to become the biggest domestic earner of the summer, while M. Night Shyamalan’s dreadful The Last Airbender suffered a 60% drop in ticket sales; however, it did manage to pass the $100 million mark, so it’s not a complete financial disaster.

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

1. Despicable Me – $60.1 million

2. Twilight: Eclipse – $33.4 million

3. Predators – $25 million

4. Toy Story 3 – $22 million

5. The Last Airbender – $17.1 million

6. Grown Ups – $16.4 million

7. Knight & Day – $7.85 million

8. The Karate Kid – $5.7 million

9. The A-Team – $1.8 million

10. Cyrus – $1.4 million

The interesting flick to monitor is Cyrus, which has already earned $3.5 million on a scant 200 theaters. When it finally goes wide, it could be one of the summer’s best earners, especially since its budget was only $7 million.

This week we will finally get a look at Christopher Nolan’s mysterious Inception. The buzz on this film has been across the board positive. Some have called it the most original and inventive movie to be released in years. I, for one, can’t wait to see it.

To no one’s surprise, the 4th of July weekend box office was dominated by Twilight: Eclipse‘s glistening vampires. The holiday haul netted it $69 million, which combined with its take from Wednesday and Thursday brought the franchise’s five-day total to $162 million. Very good numbers, but not earth-shattering.

In second place was M. Night Shyamalan’s widely panned fantasy The Last Airbender with a credible $40.6 million. Since its Thursday opening, the flick has grossed close to $57 million. I’ve seen very few if any positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, but Paramount’s strategy of opening opposite Twilight seems to have paid off, at least for one week. I would anticipate a major drop-off next week once word of mouth spreads that it’s a pile of garbage.

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

1. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – $69 million

2. The Last Airbender – $40.6 million

3. Toy Story 3 – $30.2 million

4. Grown Ups – $18.5 million

5. Knight and Day – $10.2 million

6. The Karate Kid – $8 million

7. The A-Team – $3.02 million

8. Get Him to the Greek – $1.18 million

9. Shrek Forever After – $800,000

10. Cyrus – $770,000

Toy Story 3 continues its assault on Iron Man 2. It climbed within $20 million in domestic receipts but still trails in worldwide gross by over $150 million. Whether or not it can claim the summer crown remains to be seen. Both Twilight and the upcoming Inception might prove to be contenders as well.

This week the over-hyped Predators and under-hyped Despicable Me enter the box office fray. Neither poses much of a threat, but I will definitely check out Predators. I’m all over anything with a high body count.

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