“Inception” sold US$27.5 million (RM88 million) worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its total to US$193.3 million after three weekends, distributor Warner Bros. said.
The Time Warner Inc unit said the film remained on track to finish up around the US$300 million mark.
“Dinner for Schmucks” followed with US$23.3 million, in line with expectations but down from the US$25 million start for Carell’s previous live-action movie “Date Night” in April.
The opening was “solid,” said Don Harris, executive VP for distribution at Viacom Inc-owned distributor Paramount Pictures, which partnered on the US$63 million project with closely held producers DreamWorks and Spyglass Entertainment.
“Schmucks,” which garnered mixed reviews, stars Carell as a buffoon invited to a party for oddballs hosted by wealthy businessmen who lampoon their idiocy. Paul Rudd co-stars, and Jay Roach of “Austin Powers” fame directs.
Although the film was marketed at men, women liked it better, Harris said. He hoped the film would follow a similar trajectory as the Adam Sandler hit “Grown Ups,” which has earned US$150.7 million to date.
Honours for the biggest bomb went to the costly Warner Bros. 3D family sequel “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,” which opened at No. 5 with just US$12.5 million. The Time Warner Inc unit had hoped it would earn more than US$20 million.
“We probably failed to create the same level of interest that we had in the original,” said Dan Fellman, the studio’s president of domestic distribution.
The 2001 original, “Cats & Dogs,” opened to US$22 million in 2001. The sequel had the benefit of premium pricing for 3D engagements as well as higher ticket prices overall.
The project, carrying a reported US$85 million budget, was a joint-venture with Australian media firm Village Roadshow Ltd.
Also new was Universal Pictures’ Zac Efron psychological melodrama “Charlie St. Cloud,” which opened at No. 6 with US$12.1 million, at the lower end of expectations. The “High School Musical” heartthrob was last in theatres with “17 Again,” which opened to US$23 million in April 2009.
The film, which cost a relatively cheap US$44 million to make, played almost exclusively to Efron’s core audience of young women. The General Electric Co unit said it expected strong midweek grosses. Efron’s bereaved title character sees his dead younger brother.
Columbia Pictures’ Angelina Jolie thriller “Salt,” which opened at No. 2 last weekend, slipped one place with US$19.3 million, taking its total to US$70.8 million.
The film is tracking far behind her previous action films “Wanted” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” but the Sony Corp unit expects to make most of its money internationally. Its early foreign total rose to US$32.8 million, bolstered by No. 1 openings this past weekend in South Korea (US$6.5 million) and Russia (US$5.5 million).
Universal’s hit cartoon “Despicable Me,” also featuring Carell, was off one to No. 4 with US$15.4 million; its total rose to US$190.3 million after four weekends. The early foreign total stands at US$29.2 million. — Reuters