Now that the July 18th weekend is over I think I can safely say that the most anticipated film of the summer is behind us. Inception came out this weekend and easily climbed its way to the number one spot at the box office. Now that it’s out I think we’ve seen the last of the really big summer blockbusters. Aside from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The Expendables there really aren’t anymore huge summer blockbusters coming our way.
This week’s box office wasn’t too bad overall and as usual it was fairly predictable. Inception did land the top spot but it only took in $60 million which was a bit upsetting. Take a look at the full report below.
1. Inception – $60.4 million; $60.4 mil (debut)
2. Despicable Me – $32.7 million; $118 mil
3. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – $17.4 million; $24.5 mil (debut weekend)
4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – $13.5 million; $265 mil
5. Toy Story 3 – $11.7 million; $363 mil
6. Grown Ups – $10 million; $129 mil
7. The Last Airbender – $7.45 million; $115 mil
8. Predators – $6.8 million; $40.1 mil
9. Knight and Day – $3.7 million; $69.2 mil
10. The Karate Kid – $2.2 million; $169 mil
As stated above, it is to no surprise that Nolan’s latest film took the number one spot. It was the most anticipated film of the summer and it did not disappoint. With a current ranking of #3 on IMDB and boasting terrific reviews, the film is a must see. You can check out our review here.
It only pulled in $60 million and with a reported budget of $200 million just for production, the $60 million figure has analysts somewhat worried. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this seeing as Avatar only made around $70 million when it opened. Inception will do fine and I’m sure it will turn a profit.
Despicable Me continued to please audiences as it performed very well. After debuting at number one last week it moved aside for Inception and took the number two spot. $32.7 is great for a second weekend and Despicable Me took down the $100 million barrier with ease. I’m happy to see this film doing well as it received pretty good reviews and is paving the way for other studios to enter the animation field that is currently dominated by Pixar and Dreamworks.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice took the number 3 spot and after a Wednesday opening it only managed to bring its total to $24.5 million. The reviews were pretty poor and the box office wasn’t much better. Like The Last Airbender, I can easily see this one flopping. It didn’t open well on Wednesday and the weekend didn’t do much for it ether.
Easing into number 4 is Eclipse which seems to have lost a bit of steam. Although, considering it’s sitting pretty at $265 million I don’t think this is a concern to anyone. Even if the film doesn’t make one more penny it will still be considered a giant success.
Number 5 and 6 went to Toy Story 3 and Grown Ups, both these films are doing vey well for themselves and it was surprising to see that both of them beat out Predators which ended up in the number 8 spot. What is even more surprising is that The Last Airbender also beat out Predators by taking the number 7 spot. Predators looks good and the reviews have been fairly decent, I’m not sure why it’s not making more money.
Rounding out the list in the number 9 and 10 spots are Knight and Day and The Karate Kid. Surprisingly The Karate Kid is still hanging on and as predicted, The A-Team is no where in sight. I’m guessing this is the last weekend we’ll see The Karate Kid on the list as it just made it on.
Knight and Day continues to impress no one and it looks like Tom Cruise’s days as a movie star may be coming to an end. Audiences just aren’t flocking to him like they used to.
Next week I’m hoping Inception will hold its number one spot although it may be tough with Salt coming out. We’ll have to see. Check back next week for the box office numbers.