Testosterone washed over the boxoffice on Friday as Lionsgate’s “The Expendables,” starring Sylvester Stallone and a cast of his fellow he-men, debuted in the top slot for the day.
The R-rated action movie from Nu Image/Millennium about a bunch of mercenaries, which Stallone also co-wrote and directed, corralled an estimated $13.3 million as it bowed in 3,270 locations in the United States.
But the ladies in the movie-going audience weren’t giving up without a fight. The PG-13-rated Julia Roberts vehicle, “Eat Pray Love,” based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir of the same name, bowing in 3,082 theaters, took the second slot.
The Ryan Murphy-directed tale of an around-the-world search for happiness, released by Sony, turned up $8.5 million.
Playing to a younger crowd, Universal checked in at fourth place with Edgar Wright’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” starring Michael Cera. The PG-13 graphic novel adaptation about a teen who faces down his new girlfriend’s ex-boyfriends arrived in 2,818 locations with $4.6 million.
Rounding out the top five, Sony’s comedy “The Other Guys,” starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, which presided over the boxoffice last weekend, moved to third place as it made way for the newcomers. With an estimated Friday take of $5.6 million, its cumulative domestic tally as it enters its second weekend amounts to more than $58.1 million.
Warners’ durable “Inception” took the fifth spot. Entering its fifth weekend, Chris Nolan’s brain-teaser attracted an additional $3.4 million, bringing its domestic cume to more than $240 million.
