As expected The Expendables 2 topped the US box office over the weekend with $28.7 million, slightly below the $34 million the first movie made in 2010. Although it means the movie is still likely to turn a profit, with diminishing returns on the franchise already, it may put a spanner in the works of the already planned Expendables 3.
The action film was one of several new movies coming out now the Olympics have ended. The next highest new entry was Paranorman, which placed third on the chart with $14 million. That’s about in line with several other recent stop-motion efforts, which seems to be a subgenre that finds it difficult to appeal to a wide audience.
The musical Sparkle, starring Whitney Houston, made $12 million on its opening, which isn’t a huge amount but it considered okay for a movie that wasn’t strongly marketed. The final new entry was the long delayed The Odd Life Of Timothy Green, which made $10.9 million. Disney isn’t likely to be too happy about that, even if they have long seemed unsure what to do with the movie, starting the marketing for it a year ago, but never building much momentum.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of August 17th-19th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | The Expendables 2 | $28.7 | $28.7 |
| 2 | The Bourne Legacy | $17.0 | $69.5 |
| 3 | Paranorman | $14.0 | $14.0 |
| 4 | The Campaign | $13.3 | $51.6 |
| 5 | Sparkle | $12.0 | $12.0 |
| 6 | The Dark Knight Rises | $11.1 | $409.9 |
| 7 | The Odd Life Of Timothy Green | $10.9 | $15.1 |
| 8 | Hope Springs | $9.1 | $35.0 |
| 9 | Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days | $3.8 | $38.7 |
| 10 | Total Recall | $3.5 | $51.7 |