The arrival of five new enemies didn't stop Sylvester Stallone and his band of mercenaries from topping the North American box office with their action hit The Expendables. A variety of new titles were met with weak to moderate results as the end-of-summer funk dragged the marketplace down to its worst showing of the season. Despite the expected large decline, The Expendables still ruled the charts with $17M in its second mission falling an understandable 51% from its muscular debut. The R-rated kill-a-thon has pulled in an impressive $65.4M in ten days and looks headed for the $100M mark. It was the first time in 17 years that Stallone spent back-to-back weekends at number one with a live-action film. 1993's Demolition Man was his last. Expendables did, however, post the second lowest gross this year for a number one film beating just the $15.4M of How to Train Your Dragon in its fifth weekend over the April 23-25 frame.
For Stallone, who at 64 is witnessing a career resurgence, Expendables will outgun the $42.8M of 2008's Rambo and the $70.3M of 2006's Rocky Balboa. He directed and starred in all three. While the last two films relied on well-known characters to attract business, Lionsgate's Expendables used the starpower of an army of action heroes to grab audience attention. It could become Stallone's first film in a lead role to break $100M since 1985's Rocky IV.
Leading the five-pack of new releases was the spoof comedy Vampires Suck which debuted to $12.2M over the Friday-to-Sunday period and $18.6M over the five days since its Wednesday launch. Crucified by critics, the Fox release managed a mild $3,774 average over the weekend but with a very wide opening in 3,233 locations, was able to slide into the number two spot. The PG-13 pic actually debuted at number one on Wednesday before falling to third on Thursday after the upfront teen audience had already come out. Suck, which makes fun of the Twilight saga plus other pop culture favorites of the moment, earned some of the worst reviews of any film this year.
Julia Roberts took third place with her Italy-India-Bali travelfest Eat Pray Love which dropped 48% in its second weekend to $12.1M and $47.2M in ten days. Produced for about $60M, the Sony release is headed for the vicinity of $75M from North America which would make it the highest-grossing live-action film for the actress in a lead role since 2001's America's Sweethearts which grossed $93.3M nine summers ago.
Debuting to solid results in fourth was the comedy Lottery Ticket which grossed $10.7M from 1,973 theaters for a good $5,399 average - the best for any wide film. The Warner Bros. release enjoyed the second best opening among the new films despite having the fewest theaters. Starring Bow Wow, the PG-13 pic attracted lackluster reviews. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg fell to fifth with the action-comedy The Other Guys which took in $10.2M, off 42%, for a $88.3M total in 17 days. The Sony release will break $100M before Labor Day weekend.
Close behind with a $10.1M opening was the horror remake Piranha 3D which averaged a decent $4,092 from 2,470 sites. The R-rated Weinstein Co. release won strong reviews and connected with an audience that had no other scary films to see. Still it did not come close to last year's late-August horror pics The Final Destination (which also had higher 3D ticket prices) and Halloween 2 which opened against each other with $27.4M and $16.3M, respectively.
Opening softly in seventh place was the Jennifer Aniston-Jason Bateman artificial insemination comedy The Switch which bowed to $8.4M. The Buena Vista release averaged $4,193 from 2,012 theaters and attracted mixed reviews.
Family audiences showed little interest in the Emma Thompson sequel Nanny McPhee Returns which debuted to $8.4M from 2,784 theaters for a weak $3,020 average. Despite today's higher ticket prices, the average was less than half of the $7,270 that the first McPhee generated in January 2006 when it bowed to $14.5M. But the $35M Returns has already grossed $62.9M overseas from its international release which began in March. Reviews were generally good.
| # | Title | Aug 20 - 22 | Weeks | Cumulative | Distributor | ||||
| 1 | The Expendables | $ 16,968,032 | 2 | $ 65,357,117 | Lionsgate | ||||
| 2 | Vampires Suck | 12,202,831 | 1 | 18,566,733 | Fox | ||||
| 3 | Eat Pray Love | 12,111,162 | 2 | 47,214,078 | Sony | ||||
| 4 | Lottery Ticket | 10,652,297 | 1 | 10,652,297 | Warner Bros. | ||||
| 5 | The Other Guys | 10,163,337 | 3 | 88,253,482 | Sony | ||||
| 6 | Piranha 3D | 10,106,872 | 1 | 10,106,872 | Weinstein Co. | ||||
| 7 | The Switch | 8,436,713 | 1 | 8,436,713 | Buena Vista/Maple | ||||
| 8 | Nanny McPhee Returns | 8,407,685 | 1 | 8,407,685 | Universal | ||||
| 9 | Inception | 7,838,179 | 6 | 262,031,594 | Warner Bros. | ||||
| 10 | Scott Pilgrim vs. The World | 5,201,970 | 2 | 20,898,255 | Universal | ||||
| 11 | Despicable Me | 4,662,065 | 7 | 231,056,990 | Universal | ||||
| 12 | Dinner for Schmucks | 3,520,805 | 4 | 65,800,919 | Paramount | ||||
| 13 | Salt | 3,410,012 | 5 | 109,895,105 | Sony | ||||
| 14 | Step Up 3D | 3,150,401 | 3 | 36,868,951 | Buena Vista | ||||
| 15 | Cats & Dogs: The Revenge... | 1,701,134 | 4 | 39,660,611 | Warner Bros. | ||||
| 16 | Toy Story 3 | 1,523,124 | 10 | 403,803,642 | Buena Vista | ||||
| 17 | The Kids Are All Right | 818,213 | 7 | 18,239,725 | Focus | ||||
| 18 | Get Low | 713,794 | 4 | 1,697,877 | Sony Classics | ||||
| 19 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | 566,864 | 8 | 297,216,798 | Summit | ||||
| 20 | The Sorcerer's Apprentice | 476,035 | 6 | 60,605,526 | Buena Vista |
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