Weekend Estimates: Strong Hold for Inception Enough to Beat Salt

July 25, 2010

An impressive second weekend hold by Inception will give it a relatively comfortable win this weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. With a decline of just 31%, Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller will end up with around $43.5 million, according to Warner Bros., $7 million ahead of Salt, which is set to open with about $36.5 million. Both movies topped a per theater average of $10,000, and Sony won't be too disappointed with second place.

Ramona and Beezus will finish in 6th place for Fox with an estimated $8 million. While clearly nothing spectacular, the family comedy's numbers are decent given its $15 million budget and an inexpensive marketing campaign.

No less than three movies in the top ten fell less than 30% this weekend. Grown Ups was down just 23% and has now passed $140 million. Toy Story 3 was off 25% to $9.03 million, which takes it ever closer to the $400 million mark -- it stands just short of $380 million now, according to Disney's estimates. Finally, Despicable Me lost 26% in its third weekend, earning $24.1 million for a total of $161.7 million to date, surely enough for a sequel to get greenlit soon.

In limited release, The Kids Are All Right expanded to 201 theaters and maintained an average above $10,000. It will post an estimated $2.6 million this weekend. Countdown to Zero averaged $16,000 in three theaters for Magnolia. Arthouse Films' Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child had an excellent $18,000 opening weekend playing in a single New York theater. But the biggest winner of the weekend was IFC's Life During Wartime, which is projected to earn a massive $32,500 in its single theater.

- Weekend Estimates
- Friday Estimates
- Saturday Estimates
- Sunday Projections

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Inception, Ramona and Beezus, Despicable Me, Salt, Grown Ups, Toy Story 3, The Kids Are All Right, Countdown to Zero