'The American' Beats A Mexican At Weekend Box Office

[Brian Damage]

Late shows made the difference after a sluggish Friday box office, especially for matinees. But attendance picked up dramatically on Saturday, as much as +24%-to-+38%, allowing a clear winner for the 3-day weekend to emerge, Focus Features' The American starring George Clooney with $13M. Sony's holdover Takers was close behind Saturday. But Machete from Robert Rodriguez should finish the 3-day weekend with $11.3M, good enough for 2nd place. I'll refine numbers in the morning. Here are Friday, Saturday, and estimated Labor Day holiday weekend grosses for North America. Analysis coming:

1. The American (Focus Features) NEW [2,823 Theaters] Opened Wed
Friday $3.8M, Saturday $4.9M, Est 4-Day Holiday $16.5M, Est Cume $20M

2. Machete (Fox) NEW [2,670 Theaters]
Friday $3.9M, Saturday $3.9M, Est 4-Day Holiday $14.7M)

3. Takers (Screen Gems/Sony) Week 2 [2,206 Theaters]
Friday $3.1M, Saturday $4.3M, Est 4-Day Holiday $14.5M, Est Cume $40.5M

4. The Last Exorcism (Lionsgate) Week 2 [2,874 Theaters]
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $3M, Est 4-Day Holiday $9.5M (-57%), Est Cume $34.3M

5. Going The Distance (Warner Bros) NEW [3,030 Theaters]
Friday $2.2M, Saturday $2.4m, Est 4-Day Holiday $8.5M

6. The Expendables (Lionsgate) Week 4 [3,398 Theaters]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $2.4M, Est 4-Day Holiday $8.2M, Est Cume $94M

7. The Other Guys (Sony) Week 5 [2,607 Theaters]
Friday $1.3M, Saturday $1.9M, Est 4-Day Holiday $6.6M, Est Cume $108M

8. Eat Pray Love (Sony) Week 4 [2,663 Theaters]
Friday $1.3M, Saturday $1.8M, Est 4-Day Holiday $6.5M, Est Cume $70.5M

9. Inception (Warner Bros) Week 8 [1,704 Theaters]
Friday $1.1M, Estimated 4-Day Holiday $6M, Estimated Cume $278.4M

10. Nanny McPhee Returns (Working Title/Universal) Week 3 [2,708 Theaters]
Friday $875K, Estimated 4-Day Holiday $5M, Estimated Cume $23.9M

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/