The Expendables easily held on to the top spot at the box office in one of the weakest weekends since early this year. It slipped more than 51% in its second weekend, but it was well more than enough to fend off the advances of five new releases. The ensemble action extravaganza is a definite crowd pleaser. It is simple to follow and contains plenty of the action audiences crave, or at least I crave. Will it be able to hold on for another week? Probably not, but I doubt the weekend will be any stronger.The number two film of the week is a depressing one. At least for me it is. The movie is none other than Vampires Suck from the incredibly imaginative minds of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Yes, that was a little bit of sarcasm. No, I have not seen it, but I have been subjected to enough movies from these two to know I don't want anymore. I like dumb comedy as much as the next guy but you have to draw the line somewhere and these guys are not funny at all.
Frankly, this was not a great week for the new releases and the ones people went to see were not necessarily the good ones. I am sure that every movie has its fans, but sometimes you have to wonder, right? A movie like Scott Pilgrm vs. The World lands in tenth place in its second week out and I have to wonder why. I mean people complain about the dearth of original films and when one comes no one goes.
Of the new releases that came out this weekend, my choice for the best came in a disappointing sixth. Piranha 3D was an absolute blast of old-school, 1980's era exploitation. Blood, gore, gratuitous nudity, bad language, and an over-the-top plot round it out. It really has to be seen to be believed and is just an all around blast. I just wish it did a little better.
Grated, the only other new release that I saw was The Switch. This romantic comedy had some interesting ideas and character dynamic, but it could have used another rewrite or two. It felt a little dragged out and dull for stretches even when the content itself is promising. While it is not great, I am absolutely positive it is better than The Back-Up Plan.
Next weekend will see the Eli Roth produced The Last Exorcism arrive in theaters. I am looking forward to this, it looks genuinely creepy and we haven't had an exorcism film since The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Takers also arrives nationwide, and I have to say it looks a little generic. I am still deciding whether or not to see this one, it is a heist film that doesn't look all that exciting. A third film makes its return to the big screen, Avatar returns to IMAX theaters for a limited engagement in director's cut form. I believe it runs about 8-minutes longer.
Five movies dropped off the list this week: Despicable Me (11), Dinner for Schmucks (12), Salt (13), Step Up 3D (14), and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (15).
| This Week | Last Week | Title | Wknd Gross | Overall | Week in release |
| 1 | 1 | The Expendables | $16,968,032 | $65,357,117 | 2 |
| 2 | N | Vampires Suck | $12,202,831 | $18,566,733 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 | Eat Pray Love | $12,111,162 | $47,214,078 | 2 |
| 4 | N | Lottery Ticket | $10,652,297 | $10,652,297 | 1 |
| 5 | 3 | The Other Guys | $10,163,337 | $88,253,482 | 3 |
| 6 | N | Piranha 3D | $10,106,872 | $10,106,872 | 1 |
| 7 | N | Nanny McPhee Returns | $8,436,713 | $8,436,713 | 1 |
| 8 | N | The Switch | $8,407,685 | $8,407,685 | 1 |
| 9 | 4 | Inception | $7,838,179 | $262,031,594 | 6 |
| 10 | 5 | Scott Pilgrim vs. The World | $5,201,970 | $20,898,255 | 2 |
Box Office Predictions Recap
Not so good for either side of the chart this week. Yes, there are bound to be weeks like this and they never feel good. Fortunately I am a quick healer and can get back on the prediction horse so to speak. Although, I am going to be depressed a little bit longer over the whole Vampires Suck thing. It was a rather weak weekend anyway, so I guess I should not be all that surprised.
Here is how the field matched up:
| Actual | Prediction | Title | Wknd Gross | Prediction |
| 1 | 1 | The Expendables | $16,968,032 | $18 million |
| 6 | 2 | Piranha 3D | $10,106,872 | $15 million |
| 3 | 3 | Eat Pray Love | $12,111,162 | $13 million |
| 7 | 4 | Nanny McPhee Returns | $8,407,685 | $11.5 million |
| 8 | 5 | The Switch | $8,436,713 | $9.5 million |
| 5 | 6 | The Other Guys | $10,163,337 | $8.5 million |
| 4 | 7 | Lottery Ticket | $10,652,297 | $8 million |
| 2 | 8 | Vampires Suck | $12,202,831 | $6.5 million |
| 9 | 9 | Inception | $7,838,179 | $6 million |
| 10 | 10 | Scott Pilgrim vs. The World | $5,201,970 | $5 million |
Article first published as Box Office Update 8/20-8/22: The Expendables Holds off Vampires Suck, Thankfully! on Blogcritics.
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