Inception Dreams It's Way to Number One

Director Christopher Nolan's Inception easily took the top spot this weekend, with about $60 million, dethroning last weekend's champ Despicable Me. Inception's debut also marks Leonardo DiCaprio's biggest opening for a movie, beating out Shutter Island's $41.1 million.

As for that other new movie hitting theaters this weekend, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, it could only muster up a little over $17 million for a third place finish. This marks producer Jerry Bruckheimer's second disappointment this year as his other effort, Prince of Persia, failed to break the $100 million mark in the States.

"It's disappointing to say the least," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, which had high hopes for the movie. "I'm perplexed. I have no response, because I honestly don't know what went wrong." ---Yahoo

What went wrong? You make run-of-the-mill movie, and cover it up with an overabundance of CGI, hoping that it will somehow fix everything... This definitely does not bode well for their fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, which is in production now.

Weekend Estimates:

1. Inception: $60.4 million ($60.4 million total) Budget: $160 million
2. Despicable Me: $32.7 million ($118.4 million total) Budget: $69 million
3. The Sorcerer's Apprentice: $17.4 million ($24.7 million total) Budget: $150 million
4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: $13.5 million ($264.9 million total) Budget: $68 million
5. Toy Story 3: $11.7 million ($362.7 million total) Budget: $200 million

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A couple of movies hit theaters this weekend:

Inception
Why it might be a hit: "From the Director of The Dark Knight."
Why it might tank: Some critics say it's too smart for audiences.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Why it might be a hit: Take a famous scene from Fantasia, then make it live action, and sprinkle a crap-load of visual effects everywhere.
Why it might tank: repeat above.

My Predictions:
Inception: $65 million
Despicable Me: $30 million
The Sorcerer's Apprentice: $26 million
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: $16 million
Toy Story 3: $13 million