The Expendables held on to its number one berth over a quiet weekend that brought plenty of new blood but nothing to threaten Sylvester Stallone and his cohorts.

The action film, released in North America through Lionsgate, added $16.5m according to estimates to raise the tally after two weekends to $64.9m.

The Twilight spoof Vampires Suck sunk its teeth into second place on $12.2m through Fox and $18.6m since the Wednesday launch, while Sony’s Julia Roberts vehicle Eat Pray Love dropped to number three on $12m for $47.1m after two.

Warner Bros’ comedy Lottery Ticket debuted in fourth on $11.1m as Sony’s comedy The Other Guys in fifth continued to march towards $100m after adding $10.1m for $88.2m after three.

TWC/Dimension Film’s Piranha 3D arrived on a wave of good reviews in sixth place on $10m, while Universal’s family sequel Nanny McPhee Returns starring Emma Thompson opened in seventh place on $8.3m.

The only other new release to break into the top ten was Miramax’s Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman rom-com The Switch, which launched in a disappointing eighth place on $8.1m. Inception ranks ninth on $261.8m for Warner Bros after six weekends.

In limited release TWC opened documentary The Tillman Story, which is acquired at Sundance, and reported $52,4000 from four venues for a sturdy $13,100 average. Oscilloscope opened its Holocaust documentary An Unfinished Film as an unrated film following its failed appeal against the MPAA’s R rating. It grossed $37,500 from four for a robust $9,375 average.

Mao’s Last Dancer opened through Samuel Goldwyn and ATO Pictures on $192,200 from 31 screens in ten markets. The story of a Chinese ballet dancer who defects to the US will expand into an additional 15 new markets on August 27. The cumulative total has reached $776,253.

Next weekend Lionsgate will be looking for a new number one with its horror release The Last Exorcism, while Screen Gems has the action thriller Takers and Fox release Avatar: Special Edition, featuring new footage from Cameron’s sci-fi behemoth.

Estimated Top 10 North America August 20-22 2010

Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (1) The Expendables (Lionsgate) Nu Image $16.5m $64.9m

2 (-) Vampires Suck (Fox) Fox Int’l $12.2m $18.6m

3 (2) Eat Pray Love (Sony) SPRI $12m $47.1m

4 (-) Lottery Ticket (Warner Bros) WBPI $11.1m –

5 (3) The Other Guys (Sony) SPRI $10.1m $88.2m

6 (-) Piranha 3D (TWC/Dimension) TWC International $10m –

7 (-) Nanny McPhee Returns (Universal) UPI $8.3m –

8 (-) The Switch (Miramax) Lionsgate $8.1m –

9 (4) Inception (Warner Bros) WBPI $7.7m $261.8m

10 (5) Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (Universal) UPI $5m $20.7m

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