On Friday, Dinner for Schmucks narrowly outdrew Inception to lead the box office on its opening day. Inception held well again and, despite a second-place blip on Friday, is poised to spend its third weekend atop the box office. Charlie St. Cloud had a decent launch, while Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore had a soft start despite having the broadest release of all movies.
Dinner for Schmucks pulled in a solid estimated $8.4 million on approximately 3,400 screens at 2,911 locations. That was slightly less than Funny People's $8.7 million start on the comparable Friday last year (which led to a $22.7 million weekend) and Date Night's $9.2 million start, but it was greater than Get Him to the Greek's $6.3 million, I Love You, Man's $6.3 million and Role Models' $6.7 million.
Hot on the Schmucks's heels, Inception nabbed an estimated $8.15 million, easing 38 percent from last Friday. Its total rose to $174 million in 15 days, surpassing The Karate Kid as the eighth highest-grossing movie of the year. Salt took a standard 53 percent hit in its second Friday, taking in an estimated $5.9 million for a $57.5 million eight-day tally.
Charlie St. Cloud claimed an estimated $5.6 million at 2,718 locations, which was less than lead actor Zac Efron's last major vehicle, the more commercial 17 Again ($9.4 million), but was much better than Robert Pattinson's Remember Me ($3.6 million).
Despite being in its fourth Friday and having fewer 3D venues, Despicable Me generated more business than Cats & Dogs 2. It made an estimated $4.7 million, off a modest 37 percent from last Friday, and its total grew to $179.5 million in 22 days.
In sixth place on Friday, Cats & Dogs 2 lacked bite with an estimated $4.2 million on around 5,100 screens at 3,705 locations. Predecessor Cats & Dogs bagged $9 million on its opening day back in 2001, and the sequel also paled compared to G-Force, which grabbed $11.5 million on its late July 2009 first day, as well as many other talking animal movies. Cats & Dogs 2 was closer to Marmaduke ($3.5 million) and Underdog ($4.1 million).
Meanwhile, The Kids Are All Right expanded into nationwide release (847 locations), but there was no commensurate growth in audience. The picture made less than $1 million on Friday, up only 36 percent over last Friday when it was at 201 locations.
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