Three films opened wide at US cinemas this weekend, and while two did pretty well, the third failed to impress, despite some very impressive reviews (as well a a few equally damning ones). It was The Expendables that topped the chart, with the promise of a slew of major action stars, including Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger, scoring $35 million dollars worth in its first three days in theatres.
The movie pushed the female skewing Julia Roberts flick, Eat Pray Love, into second place with $23.7 million. That’s about in line with expectations, especially considering most reviews were less than positive. The third major opener was the one the geek crowd hoped would succeed, but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World failed to find too much interest outside that core audience, scoring only $10.5 million in its first weekend.
Although not a disastrous opening by any means, it’s a lot less than many had hoped and means it only made it to number five on the chart, behind even the fifth weekend of Inception. It seems to suggest those who criticised Scott Pilgrim’s marketing strategy, which concentrated on the web-wise audience (who probably knew about it anyway) and didn’t seem to reach the general audience, were right. Universal is unlikely to be too worried though, as it’s the sort of film that will undoubtedly do well on DVD and Blu-ray, and may find a more appreciative audience outside America.
Elsewhere on the chart, Salt passed the $100 million mark, while Toy Story 3 made it to a very impressive $400 million. With its international gross added in, the Pixar movie became the most successful animated movie in history over the weekend, with its $940 million taking it well past Shrek 2 and into the 10 highest grossing movies ever!
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of August 13th-15th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | The Expendables | $35.0 | $35.0 |
| 2 | Eat Pray Love | $23.7 | $23.7 |
| 3 | The Other Guys | $18.0 | $70.5 |
| 4 | Inception | $11.3 | $248.5 |
| 5 | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | $10.5 | $10.5 |
| 6 | Despicable Me | $6.7 | $221.9 |
| 7 | Step Up 3D | $6.6 | $29.5 |
| 8 | Salt | $6.3 | $103.5 |
| 9 | Dinner For Schmucks | $6.3 | $58.8 |
| 10 | Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore | $4.0 | $35.1 |