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It took the backing of Eli Roth and a sweetheart distribution deal from Lionsgate to get there, but The Last Exorcism](http://www.cinematical.com/2010/08/27/the-last-exorcism-review/) did finally turn into indie gold. The film, which cost $1.8 million to make (and $1 million for Lionsgate to buy), took in $21.3 million over the weekend. The $2.8 million doesn’t include the costs of marketing and distribution, of course, but that’s still a lot of pure profit for everyone involved. Hopefully this will catapult obviously talented director Daniel Stamm into a career making more tight, effective genre films like this one.
Takers](http://www.cinematical.com/2010/08/27/takers-review/), which made an estimated $21 million, is another big marketing victory, this time for Screen Gems. Featuring a slew of B-level stars and a totally generic heist plot, this movie could easily have fallen through the cracks. But Screen Gems started pushing the flick early, and unleashed a barrage of slick advertising in recent weeks, emphasizing its bevy of action scenes and (uneven, truth be told) kinetic style. It worked; good on 'em.
Now with two strong holds under its belt, The Expendables](http://www.cinematical.com/2010/08/14/the-expendables-jennis-take/) looks like it will easily sail past $100 million, a perfect storm of star power, nostalgia, and audiences’ insatiable hunger for simple shoot-em-up action, served up with style. The Other Guys](http://www.cinematical.com/2010/08/05/review-the-other-guys/) has likewise ridden a wave of audience goodwill to $100 million and beyond – which, if you’ve seen the deeply strange film, is at least a little bit remarkable.
The 800-screen release of Avatar: Special Edition](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/avatar-special-edition/51994/main?icid=movsmartsearch) didn’t get a ton of press, but the highest-grossing movie of all time had enough firepower left to get up to 12 this weekend, adding $4 million to Fox’s coffers. (By all accounts there wasn’t much to see, or at least not much new.) The number is pretty impressive considering that *Avatar *(the original version) has been on DVD for over four months.
The chart after the jump.
Filed under: New Releases, Box Office
Continue reading Weekend Box Office: ‘Takers’ and ‘Last Exorcism’ Neck-in-Neck for Top Spot