If you like well-reviewed, action-driven spy thrillers, this was your weekend.
Sony's "Salt," which stars Angelina Jolie as an ass-kicking CIA operative accused of being a Russian agent, opened solidly to $36.5 million, according to studio estimates.
Scoring a B-plus from movie customer-satisfaction grader CinemaScore, that gross hit the high side of the pre-release tracking target for the PG-13-rated film, which cost about $100 million to produce.
However, the performance was not good enough to overtake week two of Warner's Christopher Nolan-directed "Inception," which dropped only 32 percent in its second weekend to $43.5 million.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a spy who steals info within dreams, the $160 million PG-13-rated movie has grossed $143.7 million in the U.S. and Canada so far.
"We co-existed quite well and expanded the market," said Sony distribution president Rory Bruer.
The domestic box office grew about 9 percent over the same weekend last year, according to one studio's estimate — that 2009 frame included the debut of Jerry Bruckheimer's gerbil-themed "G-Force," as well as week two of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
Certainly, the continuing strong holds of 3D-animated family films is bolstering the market.
Universal's "Despicable Me" dropped only 26 percent in weekend No. 3 to $24.1 million, giving it a cumulative total of $161.7 million; and Disney/Pixar's dropped only 24 percent in weekend six to $9 million, giving it a domestic cume of $379.5 million.
The weekend's only other wide-opener, meanwhile, Fox's tween-targeted "Ramona and Beezus," opened up to $8 million — right around pre-release estimates for the G-rated film starring former Disney Channel luminary Selena Gomez.
Also in the mix was Disney's Bruckheimer-produced "Sorcerer's Apprentice," which dropped just 45 percent in week No. 2 to $9.7 million. With $42.7 million in domestic totals, the Jon Turteltaub-directed fantasy film also made $10.3 million this weekend playing in 21 foreign territories, covering about 15 percent of the international market.
With $25.3 million in foreign grosses so far, Disney officials hope that "Sorcerer's Apprentice" — which cost about $150 million to produce — will gross the majority of its theatrical take abroad, much as Bruckheimer spring-release "Prince of Persia" did.
However, with World Cup weary distributors pushing back almost all of their international release schedules until the end of summer to avoid soccer competition, overseas expansion will be a decidedly competitive proposition in August.
Simply stated, most of the films released domestically in June and July are still trying to expand play in Europe.
Conceding the overseas market is crowded, Sony's Bruer believes the international clout of "Salt" star Jolie will give the film a leg up amid the competitive glut.
"We have the big guns, so to speak," Bruer said.
Domestically, those "guns" propelled Jolie to only her fourth best opening, trailing most of her other action-oriented efforts, which include "Laura Croft: Tomb Raider" ($47.7 million), "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" ($50.3 million) and "Wanted" ($50.9 million).
"People want to see her doing what she does best," Bruer added, noting the star's action prowess.
