The Friday box-office estimates are in and Inception isn’t showing any signs of going away, which is good news for all of us. This means audiences out there want more than just talking animal movies and generic rom-coms. People want to think and this Friday they wanted to think to the tune of $13.3 million, which means Inception is looking at a $40 million weekend. However, does that mean it will take the top spot for the second weekend in a row?
Columbia’s Salt is pushing hard for #1 and I would say in a good position to take the top slot after the Angelina Jolie actioner managed $12.7 million on Friday. That’s a number that’s also likely to push the $40 million mark and one would assume the newcomer would beat out the second week title over Saturday and Sunday, but it’s just too close to call. Especially considering Inception has IMAX ticket sales to count on.
The #3 slot belongs to Despicable Me, which continues to perform well and made an estimated $7.3 million in its third weekend and will likely land around $24 million for the weekend, only a 26% drop from last weekend. I’m thinking this one is a top contender for a feature animated Oscar nod along with How To Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3 at the moment. As of right now I don’t think five nominees in the category are a guarantee and it is certainly the #3 man on the totem pole and could get knocked off, but I don’t think many would have assumed that result earlier this year.
The week’s other newcomer is Ramona and Beezus, which seemed to be a film no one had much faith in and to that point I’m not sure if it’s overperforming or doing exactly what everyone expected. The family film from Fox managed $2.9 million putting it in a tie with Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in the #4 position. It’s likely to drum up about $10 million for the weekend, which isn’t too shabby for a film that cost about $15 million to make.
As for the rest of the Friday box-office I’ve included it directly below and as always Laremy will be here on Sunday for a complete wrap-up.
- Inception – $13.3 million
- Salt – $12.7 million
- Despicable Me – $7.3 million
- The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – $2.9 million
- Ramona and Beezus – $2.9 million
- Toy Story 3 – $2.6 million
- Grown Ups – $2.4 million
- The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – $2.3 million
- The Last Airbender – $1.2 million
- Predators – $821,000
