DiCaprio, Nolan’s ‘Inception’ earns dreamy reception with $60.4 million opening weekend

‘Inception’ earns dreamy reception with $60.4M

LOS ANGELES — Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” is anything but a sleeper as the thriller opened big with $60.4 million and a No. 1 finish at the weekend box office.

The action tale about a team that sneaks into people’s dreams is DiCaprio’s biggest opening weekend, topping his previous best of $41.1 million for last winter’s “Shutter Island.”

“Inception” falls far short of director Christopher Nolan’s best, though. Nolan is the man who directed the Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight,” which opened over the same weekend two years ago with a record $158.4 million.

Slipping to second place was the previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, Steve Carell’s animated hit “Despicable Me.”