The Expendables earned about $16.5 million across the United States and Canada in the first three days after its release. Sylvester Stallone and his merry band of mercenaries in The Expendables led the North American box-office for a second weekend recently,while new releases starring Emma Thompson and Jennifer Aniston flopped. The Expendables earned about $16.5 million across the United States and Canada in the first three days after its release,crushing five forgettable newcomers in the dog days of summer. The 10-day tally for the action thriller rose to $64.9 million,distributor Lionsgate said. It dropped a respectable 53 per cent from last weekend,when its $34.8 million opening marked one of the biggest of Stallones career. Stallone also directed and co-wrote the independently produced $85 million project,whose multinational lineup includes English tough guy Jason Statham,Swedens Dolph Lundgren and Chinese martial-arts veteran Jet Li. Lionsgate,a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp,said the film opened at No. 1 in the U.K. with a four-day tally of about $5.8 million since Thursday. Best of the North American rookies was the Twilight spoof Vampires Suck,which opened at No. 2 with $12.2 million. The movie could have claimed the crown if it had not opted for a two-day head start by opening on Wednesday to maximise sales. Its early total stands at $18.6 million,in line with expectations. McPhee Fails Dishonors for the worst flop went to Emma Thompsons Nanny McPhee Returns,which was seen as having a shot at the top spot. Instead the sequel opened at No. 7 with just $8.3 million. Its 2006 predecessor started off with $14.5 million. The opening marks the third flop in as many weeks for General Electric Co-owned distributor Universal Pictures,following Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Charlie St. Cloud. But the studio tailored the film to the overseas market,where it has earned $63 million since late March. The studios North American promotional efforts included having the two-time Oscar winner pose with a pig when she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also new were: the urban comedy Lottery Ticket,starring rapper Bow Wow,at No. 4 with $11.1 million,the toothless remake Piranha 3D at No. 6 with $10.0 million and Anistons romantic comedy The Switch at No. 8 with $8.1 million. The opening for The Switch,which co-stars Jason Bateman,was in line with modest expectations. A year ago,the former Friends star endured the same opening for Love Happens,which wound up with $23 million. Vampires Suck was released by 20th Century Fox,a unit of News Corp. Lottery Ticket was released by Warner Bros. Pictures,a unit of Time Warner Inc. Piranha 3D was released by Dimension Films,a unit of the closely held Weinstein Co. The Switch was released by Walt Disney Cos Miramax Films.
