$60.4 million reception for 'Inception'

Christopher Nolan strikes again.




Directing a weighty sci-fi movie with a nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime, "The Dark Knight" filmmaker's latest effort, "Inception," debuted to $60.4 million at the domestic box office this weekend, according to studio estimates.

That was the high side of pre-release tracking for the $160 million thriller, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a corporate espionage expert who steals data from sleeping big-wigs.

"It's been quite a year for Leonardo DiCaprio," said Warner distribution president Dan Fellman, noting that the actor broke his all-time opening mark of $40.2 million, set in February with Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island."

More on the box office from TheWrap: 'Inception' pulls in $60.4 million






Overall, the PG-13-rated "Inception" scored a B-plus grade from customer satisfaction survey firm CinemaScore.

 

"There were those who found the film a little hard to understand," Fellman said.

However, the feeling in the exhibition industry is that the film will have an extended play.

Big-screen digital chain IMAX, which made $7 million this weekend playing "Inception" on 197 screens, has the movie booked for six weeks.

"You can just tell by the Saturday gross that it's going to play," said IMAX film president Greg Foster.






Here's the top 10 movies:

1. "Inception," $60.4 million

2. "Despicable Me," $32.7 million

3. "Sorcerer's Apprentice," $17.4 million


4. "Twilight Saga: Eclipse," $13.5 million


5. "Toy Story 3," $11.7 million


6. "Grown Ups," $10 million

7. "The Last Airbender," $7.5 million

8. "Predators," $6.8 million

9. "Knight and Day," $3.7 million

10. "Karate Kid," $2.2 million



Inception Trailer