Sylvester Stallone's latest action flick, The Expendables, rocketed to a great start for a mid-budget action movie, bringing in $35 million in its opening weekend. The film, starring, written and directed by Stallone also features a long list of action heroes in various roles, including Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Jet Li, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and even a cameo by Arnold Schwarzneggar.
Second place went to Julia Roberts' newest film, Eat Pray Love, based on the best-selling memoir of the same name. It opened with a very respectable $23.7 million in box office grosses.
Last weekend's #1 opener, The Other Guys, fell 49% in its second weekend to claim the number three spot with $18 million. The Will Ferrel/Mark Wahlberg buddy-cop comedy has grossed just over $70 million in its first 10 days of release.
Fourth place went to Inception. After 5 weeks in release, the film has held up well, dropping another 38% to bring in $11.3 million. Inception's total grosses to date are $248.5 million.
Finally, fifth place went to the weekend's other newcomer, Comic-Con sensation Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The $60 million-budgeted film brought in just $10.5 million, following the lead of other films like Kick-Ass that pick up great buzz at audience-focused events like Comic-Con, and then fizzle with general audiences.