‘Expendables’ seizes No. 1 spot with $35M debut; ‘Eat Pray Love’ takes second with $23.7M

‘Expendables’ seizes No. 1 spot with $35M debut

LOS ANGELES — Sylvester Stallone has proven that he’s not quite expendable yet at the box office.

Stallone and his pumped-up pals lifted the 1980s-style action romp “The Expendables” to a No. 1 debut with $35 million. The movie features such action stars as Jet Li and Jason Statham — along with cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger — in a tale of mercenaries aiming to overthrow a dictator.

While the macho “Expendables” lured male audiences, Julia Roberts delivered a crowd-pleaser for women with “Eat Pray Love,” which opened at No. 2 with $23.7 million. Adapted from Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir, the movie stars Roberts as a woman traveling the world in search of enlightenment after her divorce.