| GEO Entertainment | Last Exorcism edges out Takers at box office | Updated at: 1258 PST, Monday, August 30, 2010
 LOS ANGELES: "The Last Exorcism" beat fellow newcomer "Takers" by just $300,000 to end the two-week reign of Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables" at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday.
With the lucrative summer moviegoing season ending next weekend, the A-list blockbusters have ceded the spotlight to a late influx of low-budget genre pictures vying for a last-minute piece of the action.
The psychological thriller "The Last Exorcism," shot in a faux-documentary style with a group of no-name actors, earned an estimated $21.3 million during its first three days of release, distributor Lionsgate said.
It edged the Sony Pictures heist thriller "Takers," which made off with $21 million. Figures and rankings could change on Monday when final data are released.
Both movies came in at the upper end of expectations and should quickly become profitable. "Last Exorcism" was independently made for about $2 million and acquired for U.S. distribution by Lionsgate for a similar amount. "Takers," with a cast including Matt Dillon, Paul Walker and Idris Elba, cost about $32 million to make. It was handled by Sony's low-budget Screen Gems arm.
Also new was a re-release of "Avatar," the biggest movie in box office history, with an additional eight minutes of footage. The 20th Century Fox sci-fi extravaganza came in at No. 12 with $4 million from a limited run in 862 3D theaters. A studio official said the release was "strictly for the fans." Its total stands at $753.8 million.
Lionsgate's "The Expendables," meanwhile, slipped to No. 3 with $9.5 million, taking the total for the all-star mercenary action saga to $82 million after three weeks. It ranks as star/director/co-writer Stallone's biggest adult thriller since 1993's "Cliffhangers" ($84 million). Data are not adjusted for inflation.
Lionsgate is a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Sony Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. |  | | | |
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