Inception Holds Off Jolie's Salt

Despite a strong showing by Angelina Jolie's CIA action pic Salt, Leonardo DiCaprio's mind-bending thriller Inception dreamed up another large box office haul, pulling in an estimated $43.5 million. In second, Salt shook up $36.5 million, a solid number that will most likely trigger a sequel—as long as international revenues are as strong as they're expected to be. With its total now at $143.7 million in just 10 days, Inception is one of the summer's biggest hits, and is helping to push its studio, Warner Bros., into its 10th consecutive year busting the $1 billion mark. The weekend's other big debut, kid's flick Ramona and Beezus, pulled in a disappointing $8 million for ninth place.