14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most hyped and anticipated movies of this year is, no doubt, Chris Nolan’s “Inception,” a mind-twisting sci-fi that packs a lot of star power and even more potential of becoming the biggest movie of the summer. “Inception” opened nationwide in the US this Friday and, as box office figures indicate, it is, indeed, poised to make history this summer, Time informs.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead, the film opened very strong this weekend, with ticket sales of over $60 million, which means it’s the biggest debut for a non-franchise and non-reboot this year. What’s more, these amazing initial numbers leave more than ample room for discussion on how it is poised to become one of the biggest and most impressive earners released this year. After all, it’s not like it lacks appeal – and, should that be the case, the smart marketing strategy for it should be enough to lure moviegoers in theaters to see it.
“Christopher Nolan’s dream came true. Inception, the writer-director’s deviously complicated action-adventure movie, more than satisfied Nolan’s and Warner Bros.’ expectations by earning $60.4 million, according to early estimates, and winning the weekend at North American theaters. Leonardo DiCaprio, whose team of psyche-spies goes on a fantastic voyage to invade a rich man’s sleep, also enjoyed his strongest opening weekend; Inception beat this February’s Shutter Island by almost $20 million, (It did much better than Titanic too, even factoring inflation.)” Time writes.
“This is one of the rare instances of a movie studio spending a bundle – Inception’s budget was announced as $160 million, but IndieWire’s Todd McCarthy, ex of Variety, pegs it at $200 million – on a filmmaker’s intellectually ambitious, potential alienating dream project. The picture attracted audiences who knew little about the film except that: 1) DiCaprio was in it; 2) the guy who made The Dark Knight was the director; and 3) the idea behind it (just think, a Hollywood movie with an idea!) was hard to describe. Warners’ stealthy marketing campaign mimicked Inception’s plot: it planted a vague but attractive idea in the minds of moviegoers, leading many to say about the film, ‘I don’t know what it is, but I have to see it.’ So they went,” the same publication writes in reference to the appeal of the film.
As for the other big players at the US box office this weekend, “Despicable Me” held on strong, making $32.7 million more, while “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” opened somewhat below expectations, with $17.4 million. “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” managed to bring in another $13.5 million, thus secure a position in the top 5, being closely followed by “Toy Story 3” with $11.7 million. “Grown Ups” ($10 million), “The Last Airbender” ($7.5 million), “Predators” ($6.8 million), “Knight and Day” ($3.7 million) and “The Karate Kid” ($2.2 million) rounded up the US box office chart this weekend.
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