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Box Office Breakdown: The American Defeats Machete

The American

Although it lacked Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan and Robert De Niro, did have two things Machete didn’t: George Clooney and a box office win.

Despite only grossing $13.2 million over the weekend ($16.3 million since Wednesday), the Focus Features entry hit its target. The movie - which was produced for approximately $20 million - managed to top the Robert Rodriguez-actioner by less than $2 million. The American also became Clooney’s best opener - outside of any Brad Pitt-related project - since The Perfect Storm in 2000.

, based on a trailer included in the film Grindhouse, came very close to matching the earlier movie. The Danny Trejo starrer debuted to a modest $11.4 million—about $200,000 short of Grindhouse‘s premiere in 2007.

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Box Office Breakdown: Takers Takes the (Close) Win

Takers movie

Although early reports had in first place this weekend, the final numbers told a different story. When the dust finally settled on Monday, Lionsgate’s had squeaked out a slim lead. (Less than $200,000 separated the two films.)

Exorcism, though, did not walk away a loser. The movie “documenting” a priest’s final exorcism earned just over $20 million—and it only cost $1.8 million to produce. The PG-13 flick also surpassed The Unborn‘s 2009 debut ($19.8 million), though it did fall short of The Exorcism of Emily Rose. (That 2005 release opened to $30 million.)

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Box Office Breakdown: The Switch Fails to Light Up

The Switch

Maybe a quick trip to Cougar Town is something Jennifer Aniston could use right now.

Days after blurting out the R-word on television, Aniston is dealing with another ding in her career: the box office disappointment. The Switch, co-starring Jason Bateman, produced only $8.4 million over the past three days while narrowly escaping eighth place. The good news? The movie raised slightly more than Jen’s Love Happens did back in September. The bad news? The comedy earned about $4 million less than Jennifer Lopez’s baby movie, The Back-Up Plan, did in April.

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Box Office Breakdown: Expendables Team Up Against Julia Roberts

The Expendables

For some people, eating, praying and loving is the way to go. For others, shooting and fighting is the preferred course of action.

, directed and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, overpowered the competition this weekend with a $34.8 million finish. The combined star power of the cast – which included Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham – helped land the actioner in first place while awarding Stallone his biggest debut to date.

Although fell in second with its $23.1 million take, the movie was by no means a disappointment. The Julia Roberts vehicle premiered on par with Julie & Julia’s $20 million kickoff last August. Meanwhile, Roberts earned her best opening numbers in 10 years (outside of the Oceans franchise).

Unfortunately for Michael Cera, it appears the world was simply working against The $60 million comic book adaptation only raked in $10.6 million over the past three days.

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Box Office Breakdown: Victory for The Other Guys

The Other Guys

Will Ferrell is no longer stuck in the Land of the Lost.

After stinking up the theaters last summer with his science fiction remake, Ferrell has rebounded nicely with . Sony’s buddy-cop flick opened to $35.5 million over the weekend, giving the funnyman his second highest debut ever. (Talledega Nights rang in $47 million in August 2006.) The comedy also performed well for Mark Wahlberg. It was his best outing since Planet of the Apes’ $68.5 million kickoff in 2001.

Unfortunately, 3-D screens and So You Think You Can Dance plugs couldn’t push further up the charts. The $40 million film only grossed $15.8 million in ticket sales while coming in lower than the first two installments. (Step Up premiered to $20.7 million in 2006 while Step Up 2 the Streets opened to $18.9 million in 2008.)

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Box Office Breakdown: Dinner for Schmucks Comes Up Short

Dinner for Schmucks

Fans aren’t quite ready to wake up from the dream just yet.

Despite competition from Steve Carell, Zac Efron and cute animals, managed to continue its reign over the box office. The Christopher Nolan film - which is nearing the $200 million mark - added another $27.5 million to its total and became the third entry of the year to three-peat. (Alice in Wonderland and Shrek Forever After also had three wins under their belts.)

Warner Bros.’ win meant leftovers for . The Paramount comedy, which cost in the neighborhood of $60 million to produce, only brought $23.5 million to the table.

Meanwhile, narrowly beat out Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore for fifth place. The two entries were separated by approximately $100,000.

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Box Office Breakdown: Inception Holds (Off) the Salt

Salt

So remind me again - why exactly did Tom Cruise drop out of ?

The thriller Cruise was once attached to fired up $36 million over the past three days - nearly $15 million more than Knight and Day did just four weeks ago. (That movie, by the way, just fell out of the Top 10 after only four weeks.) Salt‘s numbers, though, did not match Angelina Jolie’s previous actioners (e.g. Wanted, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Tomb Raider). The Sony film also failed to boot Inception out of first place.

Meanwhile, , the weekend’s only other new wide release, failed to even cross the $10 million mark. But Beverly Cleary lovers shouldn’t feel bad - the adaptation only cost about $15 million to produce.

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Box Office Breakdown: Dreamy Numbers for Inception

Inception

Warner Bros. might have had difficulty marketing , but strong word of mouth, stunning visuals and Christopher Nolan’s reputation were enough to sell the film. The $160 million thriller opened to $62.8 million in weekend receipts, placing the film on top of all original projects out so far this summer. Inception also bested Leonardo DiCaprio’s previous debuts (including Shutter Island‘s $41.1 million) and Nolan’s earlier titles (outside of The Dark Knight).

, on the other hand, had a harder time conjuring up interest. The Disney remake grossed only $17.6 million since Friday ($24.7 million since Wednesday). That’s a considerable disappointment given the $150 million price tag, but overseas dollars will likely help the studio.

Meanwhile, a film that placed #12 on this week’s chart actually outperformed both Inception and Apprentice. , starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, had the best per screen average ($28,009) of any movie currently in theaters.

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Box Office Breakdown: Despicable Weekend for Eclipse

Despicable Me

It looks like Steve Carell will do just fine when he finally leaves Dunder Mifflin.

Neither vampires nor predators could keep Gru (Carell) and his minions from ruling the box office this weekend. - also featuring the voices of Miranda Cosgrove, Jason Segel and Russell Brand - overcame it’s title and delighted audiences to the tune of $56.4 million. Universal’s feature earned nearly enough to cover the film’s production cost ($69 million) and more than enough to push last week’s champ, Eclipse, down to second place.

Meanwhile, Fox’s , set its laser sights on the alien creature lovers out there. The sci-fi thriller, starring Adrien Brody and Topher Grace, fired up $24.8 million in ticket sales and a third place finish.

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Box Office Breakdown: Twilight Eclipses Competition

Twilight Eclipse

Summit Entertainment saw fireworks at the theaters this holiday weekend.

The four-day frame ended with hauling in approximately $83.6 million. Although the David Slade-directed installment easily dethroned reigning champ Toy Story 3, the sequel actually failed to surpass the previous outing. Last fall, The Twilight Saga: New Moon grossed $178.9 million over six days. Eclipse, on the other hand, only raised $176.3 million since opening last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, scathing reviews didn’t keep from raking up a sizable share of the box office pot. M. Night Shyamalan’s take on Nickelodeon series fought off critics to earn $51.8 million over four days. Overall, the $150 million production has totaled $69.3 million domestically since its Thursday debut.

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