How 'The Expendables' won the box office: 5 theories

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It's been a good weekend for Reagan-era action stars. The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone's throwback to the era of musclebound gun-toting action heroes — it also stars Bruce Willis and


Dolph Lundgren, and features a cameo by Arnold Schwartzenegger — won the box office with a remarkable $38 million opening weekend haul. The film had received middling reviews, and was a


surprise victor over the much-anticipated Julia Roberts film Eat Pray Love. A sequel is reportedly now in the works. Just how did The Expendables become a hit? (Watch The Expendables


trailer)


The Expendables was a "straight-up, no bones about it guy flick of the purest type," says Joseph Baxter at G4. With all the action-comedy-romance hybrids we've seen lately, it was easy to


forget how "endearing" the old-school era actually was. Maybe moviegoers are once again ready to "fully embrace the action badass style of days gone by."


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