Coming in at number one is The American, which grossed around $12.9 million for the three-day weekend. (The additional fourth day won't be tallied until later today, and exact figures won't be available until Tuesday.) While not a sterling number, this was a smaller effort from Clooney, and a moderate release, opening in 2,823 theaters.
Meanwhile, for the second straight week, Takers found itself in a dead heat with another movie. Last weekend, the Screen Gems-produced crime drama edged out The Last Exorcism for the top spot by only a few thousand, and now it's competing with 20th Century Fox's Machete for the #2 hole. According to early estimates, Takers took in approximately $11.4 million, a decent 44% drop-off from its debut.
As for Machete, the Mexican ass-kicker took in around $11.3 million - not exactly a plentiful bounty, but as the film was made independently by Robert Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios for about $30 million, this will end up being a win, at least on DVD/Blu-ray.
The weekend's other new release, the Drew Barrymore/Justin Long romantic comedy Going the Distance, was D.O.A., gathering a paltry $6.8 million. Making things even worse is the fact that it opened on more screens than either Machete or The American; with a theater count of 3,030, the New Line product had a rather pathetic per screen average of $2,272.
Next weekend sports only one major new release, Resident Evil: Afterlife, which should have a good to very good opening. Until then!
Title..... Weekend Gross..... Total Cume.....
1. The American - $12,968,000 - $16,114,000
2. Takers - $11,450,000 - $37,900,000
3. Machete - $11,300,000 - $11,300,000
4. The Last Exorcism - $7,645,000 - $32,477,000
5. Going the Distance - $6,885,000 - $6,885,000
6. The Expendables - $6,592,000 - $92,159,000
7. The Other Guys - $5,400,000 - $106,866,000
8. Eat Pray Love - $4,850,000 - $68,954,000
9. Inception - $4,530,000 - $277,103,000
10. Nanny McPhee Returns - $3,575,000 - $22,441,000
Source: Box Office Mojo
