UFC
COUTURE NEWS: "The Expendables" opens up at #1 in American box office with $35 million weekend
Aug 16, 2010 - 11:17:36 AM COUTURE NEWS: "The Expendables" opens up at #1 in American box office with $35 million weekend

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Randy Couture's most recent foray into the acting world looks to be his most successful Hollywood endeavor to date, as "The Expendables" opened with the top weekend at the box office this past week.

Bringing in $35 million in its opening weekend, the Sylvester Stallone project was the number one movie in America, besting "Eat Pray Love" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" for debuting films. It also outdrew "The Other Guys" and "Inception" in the top five, two films that came out earlier this summer.

Couture joined a cast filled with action stars for "The Expendables", as Stallone brought in a who's who in the genre. That cast included Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews and Mickey Rourke, as well as appearances by Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The film, about a group of mercenaries hired to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator, was written and directed by Stallone.

Following this premiere, Couture now looks to next week's UFC 118 event, where he will take on multi time world champion boxer James Toney.

Penick's Analysis: Couture is certainly setting himself up for a career after fighting. He's still got a few fights left in the tank, but obviously understands at 47 years old there's not a whole lot of time left for him in the sport. This will ultimately be a great vehicle for him to continue trying to make his name as an action star, and this film's success will help him get more roles. The fact that he was brought in as a part of this ensemble cast is a testament to his growing standing in the genre. If you saw the movie this weekend, what did you think?