Although some analysts were predicting G.I. Joe would bomb, it’s got off to a great start, taking $56.2 million in the US and another $44 million in other countries in its first three days in cinemas. It’s one of the biggest August openings ever, and in America only The Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 2 and Signs have done better in the month. While the film’s three-day gross is about what some of the better predictions had expected, it’s far more than a lot of the doommongers had projected for the action figure movie.
Judd Apatow’s Funny People had less to celebrate after it plummeted 65% from last weekend to drop from first place to number five on the chart. It means that after two weekends it’s only taken $40 million, about what many had expected it to take in just its first three days. After its disappointing opening weekend, the movie was relying on good word of mouth, but that doesn’t seem to have happened .
Julie & Julia, a biopic about chef Julia Childs and a woman trying to follow her cookbook, landed at number two on the chart with a very healthy opening gross of $20.1 million. The biopic, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, picked up an older and more female led audience than G.I.Joe, allowing it to compete suprisingly well.
The only other new entry was the thriller A Perfect Getaway. The Milla Jovovich movie only reached a rather disappointing number 7 on the chart with $5.7 million.
Take a look below for the full US box office top 10 for the weekend of August 7th-9th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra | $56.2 | $56.2 |
| 2 | Julie & Julia | $20.1 | $20.1 |
| 3 | G-Force | $9.8 | $86.1 |
| 4 | Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince | $8.8 | $273.8 |
| 5 | Funny People | $7.8 | $40.4 |
| 6 | The Ugly Truth | $7.0 | $69.0 |
| 7 | A Perfect Getaway | $5.7 | $5.7 |
| 8 | Aliens In The Attic | $4.0 | $16.3 |
| 9 | Orphan | $3.7 | $34.8 |
| 10 | (500) Days Of Summer | $3.7 | $12.3 |