Inception has dream opening

Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Nolan’s Inception had moviegoers in a dreamy daze this weekend. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice didn’t have enough magic to beat out Despicable Me for second.

No one quite knew what to expect from Christopher Nolan’s mysterious new psychological thriller Inception. The marketing campaign let us know the trippy film would delve into the subconscious and that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character could move around in people’s dreams, but who even realized it was a heist film?

The previews of graphic fantasy action and Leonardo DiCaprio seemed to do the trick, nonetheless. The film stole the weekend, banking $60.4 million to nab the number one spot. Even better, it has people talking.

Word of mouth could play out as another big weekend, unless Inception‘s dreamy action fizzles under Angelina Jolie’s Salt.

Despicable Me held onto the second spot with $32.7 million. That brings the breakout animation hit starring Steve Carell to $118 million in ten days, and counting.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which was dubbed as the other big opener this weekend and starred Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel, didn’t fare well. It came in third, with only $17.4 million banked over the weekend. With a $150 million production budget to make up, it’s only up to $24.5 million total. Ouch.

The Twilight Saga: EclipseandToy Story 3stayed in the game, coming in at fourth and fifth, respectively. The newest vampire installment brought in $13.5 million, bumping its total take to $265 million. Toy Story 3 brought in $11.7 million for a whopping $363 million so far.

Grown Upskept its spot at number six with $10 million, while The Last Airbender dropped down to seventh with $7.45 million. Predators crashed from its strong third place opening to eighth place, with $6.8 million. Knight and Day and Karate Kid closed out the top ten with $3.7 million and $2.2 million, respectively.

In addition to adding Salt to the movie mix next weekend, the family flick Ramona and Beezus will also premiere.

Box office top 10

1. Inception ($60.4 million)
2. Despicable Me ($32.7 million)
3. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ($17.4 million)
4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ($13.5 million)
5. Toy Story 3 ($11.7 million)
6. Grown Ups ($10 million)
7. The Last Airbender(7.45 million)
8. Predators ($6.8 million)
9. Knight and Day ($3.7 million)
10. Karate Kid ($2.2 million)