'Inception' topped the weekend box office for the third straight week, and 'Dinner for Schmucks' debuted in second place.

'Inception,' a sci-fi film directed by Christopher Nolan, took in $27.5 million to take the top spot according to preliminary numbers from Hollywood.com. The Warner Bros. film has grossed $193.3 million at the domestic box office so far. Final numbers are due out on Monday, and when the competition is close, places sometimes shift.

'Dinner for Schmucks,' a comedy starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd placed second. The Paramount movie took in $23.3 million.

'Salt' (Sony/Columbia), an action-thriller with Angelina Jolie, placed third with $19.3 million.

The animated movie 'Despicable Me' (Universal) was fourth with $15.5 million and the family film 'Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore' was fifth with $12.5 million. 'Cats & Dogs' has been panned by most critics and its poor box office showing is sure to be a disappointment to Warner Bros. The original 'Cat & Dogs' debuted in 2001 with a $21.7 million opening.

'Inception' has held up well at the box office, and its weekend gross dropped only 36 percent from the previous week. The movie, about a group of men led by Leonardo DiCaprio who steal and place information in people's dreams, has a twisting plot that has taken some viewers multiple screenings to fully appreciate. The movie's continuing success is evidence that movie audiences are willing to embrace more challenging fare during the summer blockbuster season.

''Inception' has become a national phenomenon by tapping into the zeitgeist and the ongoing fascination that people have with the nature of dreams,' Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office division of Hollywood.com, said in an email. 'Brainy action is Christopher Nolan's specialty and the audience has responded by coming back to the theater time and again to see his films.'

Christopher John Farley

• domestic [də´mestik] a.家庭的；本国的 (初中英语单词)
• competition [,kɔmpi´tiʃən] n.比赛；竞争 (初中英语单词)
• revenge [ri´vendʒ] vt.报复 n.报仇；报复 (初中英语单词)
• disappointment [,disə´pɔintmənt] n.失望；挫折 (初中英语单词)
• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
• previous [´pri:viəs] a.先，前，以前的 (初中英语单词)
• appreciate [ə´pri:ʃieit] v.评价；珍惜；感激 (初中英语单词)
• willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
• embrace [im´breis] vt.&n.拥抱；采纳；信奉 (初中英语单词)
• audience [´ɔ:diəns] n.听众；观众；接见 (初中英语单词)
• preliminary [pri´liminəri] a.初步的 n.预赛 (高中英语单词)
• comedy [´kɔmidi] n.喜剧；喜剧场面 (高中英语单词)
• phenomenon [fi´nɔminən] n.现象；奇迹；珍品 (高中英语单词)
• weekend [´wi:kend, ,wi:k´end] n.周末休假 (英语四级单词)
• fascination [,fæsi´neiʃən] n.魅力；强烈爱好 (英语四级单词)
• paramount [´pærəmaunt] a.最高的 n.元首 (英语六级单词)
• animated [´ænimeitid] a.栩栩如生的；活跃的 (英语六级单词)