Deadline Inception Box Office

SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM UPDATE: It’s looking like a down box office weekend in the U.S. and Canada with total grosses of $133 million, which is -9% compared to last year’s. Here are Friday’s and Saturday’s numbers with weekend and cume grosses:

1. The Other Guys (Sony) expectedly knocked off Inception as the #1 domestic movie with a right-on-target $13.2 million Friday and $12.6 million Saturday and an estimated $9.8 million today from 3,651 theaters. That was a very big $35.6M opening weekend for the $90M budget buddy cop comedy. Sony Pictures’ summer hit streak (Karate Kid – $173M, Grown Ups – $152M, Salt - $78M) continues with what the studio believes will be another strong performer this weekend. Opening weekend exit surveys showed the gender breakdown for the film skewed male (56%) and somewhat younger with 55% under 25,  including 18% under 17.

If the Adam McKay pic had tanked, then Will Ferrell’s career would have tanked with it after Land Of The Lost. But The Other Guys opened as Will’s 2nd biggest pic and 2nd highest with McKay. Together, they’re 3 for 3: Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers. The film was helped considerably by Ferrell’s and Mark Wahlberg’s willingness to sell it anywhere and everywhere. ”Our stars did a ton for us — all of the talk shows and lots of print coverage,” a Sony exec told me. “I think the one that really stood out included Will and Mark at Comic-Con where they hosted quite possibly the funniest panel in its history.” (Comic-Con: ‘The Other Guys’ Panel) The film was even well-received by critics, with a 79% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. As for marketing tools, Sony launched a poll on Facebook with Wahlberg/Ferrell urging users to vote for their city to host “The Other Premiere.” Radio stations got behind the promotion, and even the mayor of Cleveland posted a youtube video lobbying citizens to vote. (St. Louis won.)

2. Inception (Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures) dropped only 34% — again, an excellent hold at the start of its 4th week in release — for $5.5 million Friday and $7.4M Saturday from 3,418 theaters and an $18.6 weekend (-32%). Chris Nolan’s expanding cume is $227.7M.

3. Step Up 3D (Disney/Summit) debuted Friday with only $6.6 million and Saturday even less $5.1 million from 2,435 venues for just a $15.5M weekend with Sunday’s estimated $3.8M and #3 behind Inception. It skewed predominantly female, almost 60%/40%. Even with an “A-” CinemaScore, the pic’s 3D wasn’t enough of a draw since that’s the worst opening of the franchise even with higher ticket prices in 1,826 locations. But it’s also a crowded 3D market this late in the summer. The first Step Up opened to $20.7M and the sequel to $18.9M. All three had Jamal Sims as their supervising choreographer, the same guy doing Footloose. (He also choreographed Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet Tour and Miley Cyrus’ recent World Tour.) The franchise started at the old Summit, and Disney came in as a partner handling domestic, with Summit  overseeing the foreign release and licensing the film to Universal International in some territories. This weekend, the pic rolls out in Belgium, Netherlands, Israel, Denmark, Finland, Australia (via Universal), New Zealand (via Universal), UK (via Universal), South Korea, and Thailand.

4. Salt (Sony) Week 3 [3,317 Runs)
Friday $3.2M, Saturday $4.4M, Weekend $11.1M (-43%), Cume $91.9M

5. Dinner for Schmucks (DW/Spyglass/Paramount) Week 2 [3,004 Runs]
Friday $3.3M (-60%), Saturday $3.9M, Weekend $10.5M (-55%), Cume $46.7M

That’s a large -60% drop from last Friday’s only so-so opening. And now there’s a rival new comedy in the marketplace.

6. Despicable Me 3D (Illumination/Universal) Week 4 [3,413 Runs]
Friday $2.9M (-38%), Saturday $3.7M, Weekend $9.4M (-39%), Cume $209.4M

7. Cats & Dogs: Kitty Galore 3D (Warner Bros) Week 3 [3,705 Runs]
Friday $2.1M, Saturday $2.7M, Weekend $6.9M, Cume $26.4M

8. Charlie St Cloud (Relativity/Universal) Week 2 [2,725 Runs]

Friday $1.7M, Saturday $1.7M, Weekend $4.7M (-62%), Cume $23.4M

Ouch, a -69% Friday-to-Friday drop! Universal tried to spin last weekend’s mediocre opening last weekend, but the studio can’t deny now that Zac Efron’s High School Musical fanbase faded away. Pick better material, kiddo.

9. Toy Story 3-3D (Disney) Week 8 [1,714 Runs]
Friday $855K, Saturday $1.2M, Weekend $3M, Cume $396.3M, Global Cume $895M

10. The Kids Are Alright (Focus Features) Week 5 [994 Runs]
Friday $716K, Saturday $1.1M, Weekend $2.6M, Cume $14M