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Angelina Jolie spy flick can't overcome the dream thriller's buzz.By Eric Ditzian Paris Café Scene from "Inception" Photo: Warner Bros. Christopher Nolan can't quit winning. His 2005 "Batman Begins" held the top box-office spot for two straight weeks, followed by "The Prestige," which nabbed that slot in 2006. Then along came 2008's "The Dark Knight" with four straight weekend wins. Was there ever any doubt that "Inception," his new thriller about the world of shared dreams, would tear up the multiplex for a long time? Actually, there was. After opening to $62.8 million, "Inception" was expected to finish second at this past weekend's box office, giving way to Angelina Jolie's spy flick "Salt." But by the time the weekend was over, the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring "Inception" was once again the top ticket-seller. Was this a case of Angie faltering or Leo soaring? What exactly went down at the box office? "Sensational word-of-mouth," said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. No matter how bankable Jolie remains as an action star, "Inception" was riding a wave of critical and audience buzz that could not be defeated. While most blockbusters fall more than 50 percent in their second weekend, Nolan's flick dropped just 31 percent. As Box Office Mojo points out, a movie in that genre hasn't experienced such a small drop since "The Matrix" in 1999. Jolie's movie, then, never really had a chance. " 'Salt' had a solid opening and did exactly what I was expecting of it," said Gitesh Pandya of Box Office Guru. For a film not based on an existing entertainment property — such as "Inception," a real rarity in Hollywood these days — the $36.5 million bow was a very respectable one. We might question the wisdom of scheduling the movie's release so close to that of "Inception," because of the films' potentially similar demographic, but Sony is likely pleased with how "Salt" performed. "Credit Angelina Jolie and her big guns," Bock said. "She is the only woman in Hollywood right now that can open an action film with such boffo box office." In the end, though, not even Jolie's guns could subdue all of the positive water-cooler chatter about "Inception." "The buzz has been incredible, and it has quickly become the must-see event movie of the summer," Pandya said. "I see it eventually outgrossing the latest 'Twilight' film and breaking the $300 million mark in North America alone. This is an old-fashioned case of a good movie selling itself." Related Videos 'Inception' Clips MTV Rough Cut: 'Inception' 'Salt' Clips Related Photos Brangelina, K-Cav, More At 'Salt' Premiere "Salt" Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, More Premiere 'Inception' In L.A.

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota Automotive News reports that a federal grand jury in New York has subpoenaed Toyota for documentation related to a component in the steering mechanism of some of its vehicles. The company announced that the subpoena came on June 29, but isn't yet saying publicly which vehicles are involved with the issue. What we do know is that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation in February of 749,685 2009 and 2010 model year Corolla and Matrix vehicles for a potential steering issue. Toyota has received 437 reports, including 11 injuries and 18 crashes, since 2008, and NHTSA has received 168 complaints. In affected Corolla and Matrix models the electric power steering units are reportedly prone to drifting or locking up, with the problem most notable when cruising at highway speeds. The Japanese automaker has stated publicly that the issue is not a safety recall, though it intends to service the vehicles of Corolla and Matrix owners who say they have an issue. NHTSA still has not revealed the results of it's investigation. This subpoena is the third Toyota has received so far in 2010, with the first coming in February due to unintended acceleration issues and the second from the Michigan Attorney General for recall issues in March. Toyota has recalled 10.8 million vehicles worldwide for acceleration-related issues. [Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req. | Image: David McNew/Getty]Toyota reportedly subpoenaed for steering rod documents originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments