"Inception' sold $27.5 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its total to $193.3 million after three weekends, distributor Warner Bros. said.
The Paramount-distributed "Dinner for Schmucks" followed with $23.3 million, in line with expectations but down from the $25 million start for the ubiquitous actor's previous live-action movie "Date Night" in April.
Also new were the costly Warner Bros sequel "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" at No. 5 with a weak $12.5 million, and Universal Pictures' Zac Efron psychological melodrama "Charlie St. Cloud" at No. 6 with $12.1 million.
Columbia Pictures' Angelina Jolie thriller "Salt," which opened at No. 2 last weekend, slipped one place with $19.3 million, taking its total to $70.8 million.
Universal's hit cartoon "Despicable Me," also featuring Carell, was off one to No. 4 with $15.4 million; its total rose to $190.3 million after four weekends.
Warner Bros. Pictures is a unit of Time Warner Inc. Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. Universal Pictures is a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal.
Copyright Reuters, 2010