Inception made it three weekends in a row at the top thanks to an estimated $27.5m haul that raised Warner Bros and legendary Pictures’ sci-fi thriller to $193.3m.

DreamWorks’ French comedy remake Dinner For Schmucks directed by Jay Roach and starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd opened well in second place on $23.3m, while Sony’s spy thriller Salt fell one place to third on $19.3m for $70.8m after two weekends.

Warner Bros’ family sequel Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore voiced by Christina Applegate, Neil Patrick Harris and James Marsden, among others, scored a disappointing $12.5m in fifth place. Universal’s animation DespicableMe in fourth place is a cast-iron smash for the studio and has reached $190.3m after four weekends.

However Charlie St Cloud, the Zac Efron melodrama co-financed with Relativity Media, struggled to break into the top pack and launched in sixth place on a lacklustre $12.1m. Disney’s Toy Story 3 in seventh has amassed $389.7m after seven weekends in release.

Sony’s strong summer continued as the comedy Grown Ups in eighth place added $4.5m for $150.7m after six weekends. Summit’s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ranks tenth and stands at $288.2m after five.

Next weekend’s wide releases are Sony’s comedy The Other Guys with Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes, and Buena Vista’s Step Up 3-D.

Estimated Top 10 North America July 30-August 1 2010

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

1 (1) Inception (Warner Bros) WBPI $27.5m $193.3m

2 (-) Dinner For Schmucks (Paramount-DreamWorks) PPI $23.3m –

3 (2) Salt (Sony) SPRI $19.3m $70.8m

4 (3) Despicable Me (Universal) UPI $15.5m $190.3m

5 (-) Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore (Warner Bros) WBPI $12.5m –

6 (-) Charlie St Cloud (Universal) Various $12.1m –

7 (5) Toy Story 3 (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $5m $389.7m

8 (7) Grown Ups (Sony) SPRI $4.5m $150.7m

9 (4) The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $4.3m $51.9m

10 (8) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Summit) Summit Int’l $3.9m $288.2m

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