Well, there’s no denying it; I was way off this week. Just two of the five new wide release films cracked the top 10 and neither of which are the ones I’d have picked to do so. Still, no new entry stood a chance against The Expendables, which secured the #1 spot for the second week in a row with $16.5 million. Tack that on to its $34.8 million opening and that gives Sly and the gang a total of $64.9 million in its first two weeks.

Spot two went to this week’s worst reviewed film, Vampires Suck. The crazy thing is the $12.2 million that earned it its second place ranking doesn’t even include the additional money it accumulated thanks to its Wednesday opening. If you combine the cash the spoof took in on Wednesday and Thursday with its weekend haul, it brings Vampires Suck’s grand total to $18.6 million. Following close behind with $12 million is Eat Pray Love. That one took a 48.1% hit in week two, which is better than The Expendables’ 52.6% drop, but The Expendables is still earning more cash per theater.

Coming in fourth with $11.1 million is newcomer Lottery Ticket. Considering the film was made for $17 million, that sounds like a pretty good start. Plus, Lottery Ticket is rocking one of the best per theater averages out there making $5,369 per location. The fifth spot went to The Other Guys, which took in $10.1 million in its third week.

Coming in at #6 is Piranha 3D, which didn’t seem to benefit much from the rave reviews or inflated ticket price. Its $10 million haul sounds nice when compared to its $24 million production budget, but I thought an end of the summer horror flick would have opened with more of a bang. However, it’s the folks over at Universal that should be a little more concerned. The studio’s new entry, Nanny McPhee Returns, earned $8.3 million in week one, which is a poor showing considering the original film made $14.5 million in its first week and opened in about 700 less theaters.

The last new film of the week, The Switch, finds itself in spot #8 with $8.1 million in the bank. It looks like this one attracted the same audience Love Happens did because both films opened with roughly the same amount. At least Aniston can still have some pride in The Bounty Hunter’s $20.7 million opening back in March – but not critically speaking, of course. Inception is still hanging on pretty strongly in the ninth spot with $7.7 million. It’s been on a steady and impressively moderate decline ever since it opened, never dropping more than 39% in a weekend. After six weeks it’s accumulated a total of $261.8 million.

To round things out we return to yet another film that should make Universal a little concerned, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Not only did it have an extremely low opening weekend, but now it’s taken a 52.6% hit. It earned $10.6 in week one and only managed to add another $5 to the pot in week two. Comparing its two-week total to its $60 million production budget is disappointing, but what’s even more upsetting about Scott Pilgrim’s dismal showing is that it in no way represents the caliber of the film.

Oh well, it’s over and done with and now we’ve got to make room for two new wide releases, The Last Exorcism and Takers. I’m guessing Eli Roth is going to be a very happy guy next weekend. If The Last Exorcism attracts the same audience as The Exorcism of Emily Rose did back in 2005, Roth can be looking at a $30 million opening and based on the good early buzz I’ve been hearing, it sounds like the film deserves it. Takers might be a different story. First off, the film was delayed back in May, which is never a good sign and not only has the promo material been sparse, but it’s not that good either. If moviegoers are looking for some action, they might be more drawn to The Expendables.

Another “new” release that could end up being a cash magnet is Avatar: Special Edition. Fox will show the film in 3D with an additional nine minutes of footage in 700 theaters. Considering Avatar massacred Titanic’s worldwide and domestic gross records, odds are, this version could get a lot of folks back for another theater viewing.

By Perri Nemiroff (via Box Office Mojo)