Box Office Update 7/30-8/1: Inception Continues Warping Minds

Three weekends in a row for the top film — this is not something I have seen for awhile now. The last film to three-peat at the top was Alice in Wonderland back in March. Now we have Christopher Nolan's incredible Inception. The straightforward mind-bender is a crowd pleaser that also has a brain behind it. It is that wonderful combination of visceral thrills backed with an intelligence that you do not see often enough in summer films of recent vintage. How long will it be able to hold on? Probably not much longer — this was likely its last weekend at number one — but I still expect it to carry on for a few more weeks as it adds to its tally. I think it has a shot at reaching $300 million. What say you?

Coming in second place is one of the weekend's three new entries, Dinner for Schmucks. To be certain, the word "schmucks" is never used in the movie; instead they use the more common "idiots." The movie is very funny, there is no doubt about that. It is utterly ridiculous and is an idea that just does not feel real; however, these guys make it work. The pairing of Paul Rudd and Steve Carell is a fantastic one. It is the sort of film in which one miscast character could have tumbled this house of cards. Definitely see it if you like to laugh.

Third place is last week's number two movie, Salt. The Angelina Jolie action/thriller is a solid entry in the summer action genre. It is not the best but it does have fun with genre conventions. While being predictable, it still had enough surprises to keep me guessing. Yes, I realize that makes little sense, but there you go. It is doing decent numbers in its second week, although I suspect a steep decline is ahead, especially when The Expendables arrive to deliver some action competition.

Despicable Me finished in fourth place and is closing in on $200 million. The animated film has to be considered something of a surprise success. I know I wasn't expecting it to get near this amount, at least not so soon. It certainly is laugh out loud funny and occasionally achingly sweet and that definitely makes for a crowd pleasing movie

Article Author: Chris Beaumont

Christopher Beaumont spends much of his time writing about music and movies when he isn't indulging in them. He is always ready to talk about his favorite form of entertainment and offer up recommendations. Follow: Twitter and Tumblr. Visit: Critical Outcast. …

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