WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

As predicted last week the buddy-cop comedy The Other Guys was knocked out of the number one spot by the testosterone-filled action movie The Expendables after only one week on top of the box office charts. But with five new films entering the charts this week including the remake of the classic horror film Piranha 3D, the family film Nanny McPhee Returns, and the comedies Lottery Ticket, Vampires Suck and The Switch, Stallone and his boys had their hands full defending the number one position but came up on top for a second week in a row.

Coming in at number one as predicted in their second week of release is the action-packed film, The Expendables from writer/director and star Sylvester Stallone. Besides Stallone, film stars an array of the toughest action stars from several different decades including Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. While the film dropped 52.6% from the previous week, it still managed to earn roughly $5,046 in each of its 3,270 theaters for a weekend total of $16.5 million. Now in just two weeks the film has earned $64.8 million, which puts it close to making back its entire $80 million production budget.

Debuting at number two and doing considerably better than predicted is the vampire spoof-film Vampires Suck starring Ken Jeong, Matt Lanter, Anneliese van der Pol and Charlie Weber. The film opened on 3,233 screens and earned about $3,774 on each for an opening weekend total of $12.2 million, which is not bad considering the films $20 million production budget.

Falling one place from last week to number three is Eat, Pray, Love directed by Ryan Murphy (Glee) and based on the internationally popular novel by author Elizabeth Gilbert. The film stars Oscar winners Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem, as well as Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins, Golden Globe winner James Franco and Billy Crudup. While the film dropped 48.1% from the previous week, it still managed to earn roughly $3,894 in each of its 3,082 theaters for a weekend total of $12 million. Now in just two weeks the film has earned $47.1 million, which puts it close to making back its entire $60 million production budget.

Debuting at number four and surprisingly doing better than expected this weekend is Lottery Ticket, a new comedy starring Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Keith David, Terry Crews, Mike Epps and Ice Cube. The film opened on 1,973 screens and earned about $5,639 on each for an opening weekend total of $11.1 million, which is not bad considering the films $17 million production budget.

Rounding off the top five this week and falling two place from last week is the buddy-cop action/comedy film The Other Guys starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton and Eva Mendes. While the film dropped 42.0% from the previous week and was seen on 179 less screens, it still managed to earn roughly $2,909 in each of its 3,472 theaters for a weekend total of $10.1 million. Now in just three weeks the film has earned $88.1 million, which puts it close to making back its entire $100 million production budget.

Failing to find an audience this week and unable to crack the top five is Piranha 3D, the remake of the classic John Sayles written, Joe Dante directed horror film from the '1970s, which was expected to do much better this weekend. The film stars Adam Scott, Elisabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, Jerry O'Connell, Christopher Lloyd and Richard Dreyfuss. The film came in a disappointing sixth place earning only $4,063 on each of its 2,470 screens for an opening weekend total of $10 million, which is not quite half of its $24 million budget.

Also failing to live up to predictions is Nanny McPhee Returns, the sequel to the 2005 hit family film written and starring Emma Thompson. The follow-up features an all-star cast of actors including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Rhys Ifans and Ewan McGregor. The film only earned around $2,985 on each of its 2,784 screens for an opening weekend total of roughly $8.3 million, which is far from earning back its $35 million production budget.

Finally, the new baby comedy The Switch starring Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Patrick Wilson, Juliette Lewis and Jeff Goldblum also failed to find an audience in its opening weekend. The film was predicted to open poorly this weekend and lived up to expectations by only earning $4,026 on each of its 2,012 screens for an opening weekend total of around $8.1 million.

Doing well in limited release this week is A Film Unfinished, a documentary about lost footage from a Nazi propaganda film shot in the Warsaw ghetto during WWII, directed by Yael Hersonski. The film, which actually opened on Wednesday was only seen on four screens but managed to earn around $9,375 on each for a weekend total of $37,500 and a grand total of $51,200 in just one week of release.

Next week will see the opening of two new films in wide release and one in limited release.

First up next week is the urban heist film Takers starring an all-star cast including Paul Walker (Fast & Furious), Idris Elba (The Losers), Matt Dillon (Armored), Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith), Michael Ealy (Miracle at St. Anna), Jay Hernandez (Quarantine), Chris Brown (Stomp the Yard), T.I. (American Gangster), and Zoe Saldana (Avatar).

Also opening next week in wide release is the new horror film The Last Exorcism from producer Eli Roth (Hostel), which stars Patrick Fabian (Must Love Dogs), Louis Herthum (I Love You Phillip Morris) and Ashley Bell (State of Play).

Finally, in limited release next week is the epic war film Centurion from visionary director Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday) starring Michael Fassbender (Jonah Hex, Inglourious Basterds), Dominic West (300), and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace). So please check back in seven days to see who comes out on top at the box office next week!