Last week analysts wondered whether Inception could hold off the challenge from Salt and this week they pondered if it’d be toppled by Dinner For Schmucks, but both times Christopher Nolan’s movie has won through. The film added another $27.5 million to its tally to top the US box office chart for a third weekend, becoming the fourth film of the year to hold the top spot for three weekends (after Avatar, Alice In Wonderland and Shrek 4).
That meant Dinner For Schmucks had to settle for second spot, with an okay but not glowing $23.3 million. That marks a career high for Paul Rudd in a starring role, but a fairly middling opening for Steve Carell. However both of them are probably smiling compared to the makers of Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore. Many wondered what the logic was of making a sequel to a young kid’s film, nine years after the largely forgotten original, and the naysayers seem to have been proven right. The film’s $12.5 million opening is less than impressive considering it cost $85 million to make, and once ticket price inflation and 3D premiums are taken into account, it means it sold only about a third the number of tickets that the original did in its first weekend.
The only other new entry was Charlie St. Cloud, starring Zac Efron. It’s $12 million opening is considered decent for a weepie, and comparable to the likes of Remember Me and My Sister’s Keeper. Interestingly, nearly half its gross came from the Friday, suggesting the Efron factor helped the movie out a lot.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of July 30th-August 1st.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Inception | $27.5 | $193.3 |
| 2 | Dinner For Schmucks | $23.3 | $23.3 |
| 3 | Salt | $19.2 | $70.8 |
| 4 | Despicable Me | $15.5 | $190.3 |
| 5 | Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore | $12.5 | $12.5 |
| 6 | Charlie St. Cloud | $12.1 | $12.1 |
| 7 | Toy Story 3 | $5.0 | $389.6 |
| 8 | Grown Ups | $4.5 | $150.7 |
| 9 | The Sorceror’s Apprentice | $4.3 | $51.8 |
| 10 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | $3.9 | $288.2 |