'Inception' midnight screenings bag $3 mil

8:16 AM PDT 7/16/2010 by Carl DiOrio, AP

First weekend projected to produce about $50 mil

Almost 2,000 movie theaters programming midnight Thursday performances of Warner Bros.' Leonardo DiCaprio starrer "Inception" collected an estimated $3 million, as the Christopher Nolan-helmed fantasy thriller begins a first weekend projected to produce about $50 million in domestic boxoffice.