'Takers' overtakes 'Exorcism' for weekend win

12:17 PM PDT 8/30/2010 by Carl DiOrio, AP

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Final data released Mon. reverses Sun.'s box office rankings

Sony's crime thriller "Takers" has overtaken Lionsgate's horror pic "The Last Exorcism" for box office bragging rights from the past weekend.

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Final official data released Monday show "Takers" took in $20.5 million, compared with $20.4 million conjured by "Exorcism." That gave the competing wide openers the Nos. 1 and 2 positions, respectively, among all films playing in domestic cinemas during the weekend.

The rankings were reversed from Sunday, when initial studio estimates showed "Exorcism" with $21.3 million and "Takers" posted a preliminary $21 million.

"Takers" staked its weekend win largely on business from urban constituencies. "Exorcism" support skewed 54% to Latino moviegoers, keying on genre and thematic appeal.

A hurricane watch in Puerto Rico delayed data collection Monday. Lionsgate execs waited with crossed fingers that "Exorcism" would turn in an outsized performance on the largely Latin island -- considered a domestic territory -- but their hopes were dashed by midday, when Rentrak posted final figures.

Lionsgate's "The Expendables" was third among all domestic grossers, with a $9.5 million session producing an $82 million cume for the ensemble actioner. The Sylvester Stallone-directed pic had finished No. 1 in the rankings in the previous two weekends.