Inception trumps Salt at box office

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LEONARDO DiCaprio's Inception has won a battle of superstar action thrillers over Angelina Jolie's Salt at the weekend US box office.

Inception remained the No. 1 movie for the second-straight weekend with $US43.5 million ($A48.6 million), according to studio estimates released on Sunday. The Warner Bros thriller featuring DiCaprio as leader of a team that sneaks into people's dreams raised its 10-day total to $US143.7 million ($A160.54 million).

Sony's spy caper Salt debuted a solid No. 2 with $US36.5 million ($A40.78 million). The movie stars Jolie as a CIA operative who goes rogue after she's accused of being a Russian sleeper agent.

Coming in at No. 3 with $US24.1 million ($A26.92 million) was Steve Carell's family hit Despicable Me. The animated comedy raised its domestic total to $US161.7 million ($A180.65 million).

In a rare convergence of fresh ideas, the top three movies all were original stories, not sequels or adaptations of comic books, best-sellers, video games or other pre-existing material.

"Typically in summer, all we're seeing are rehashes and sequels and reboots, whatever you want to call them," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

"To have original stories as the top-three films is a lesson to studios that maybe audiences are open to more originality in the summer and to perhaps not play it so safe, even though that goes against the grain of every fiber in every studio executive's being."

The weekend's other new wide release, 20th Century Fox's family comedy Ramona and Beezus, took in $US8 million ($A8.94 million) to finish at No. 6. The movie is based on Beverly Cleary's children's books about a teenage girl and her accident-prone little sister.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian cinemas, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. Inception, $US43.5 million ($A48.6 million).

2. Salt, $US36.5 million ($A40.78 million).

3. Despicable Me, $US24.1 million ($A26.92 million).

4. The Sorcerer's Apprentice, $US9.7 million ($A10.84 million).

5. Toy Story 3, $US9 million ($A10.05 million).

6. Ramona and Beezus, $US8 million ($A8.94 million).

7. Grown Ups, $US7.6 million ($A8.49 million).

8. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, $US7 million ($A7.82 million).

9. The Last Airbender, $US4.2 million ($A4.69 million).

10. Predators, $US2.9 million ($A3.24 million).