The Expendables grosses P25-M

MANILA, Philippines - The star power of a Dream Team of action stars proved irresistible for Pinoy moviegoers. The action-packed The Expendables grossed a staggering P25-M at the box-office in three days time since it opened last Aug. 13.

The charisma of Sylvester Stallone (photo), Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis didn’t prove to be a jinx, considering the opening day fell on a Friday the 13th.

That the film also stars heavyweights such as Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin and Jason Statham helped a lot. Thus, the film took in $35-M in three days, showing across the US and Canada, landing at the top spot of weekend earners and giving Stallone his career’s biggest opening.

With Stallone as writer-director, The Expendables pays homage to explosive action movies of the ‘80s and early ‘90s. The plot circles on mercenaries out to overthrow a South American dictator. Stallone’s character Barney Ross is leader of the pack. Schwarzenegger and Willis appear in cameos as ex-leader Trench and Expendables’ hirer Mr. Church, respectively.

Unlike in the past, when Stallone and company were known as one-man armies in big movies like Rambo, Terminator and Die Hard, this time they’re together, depending on each other to survive a mission gone wrong and ending up triumphant.

The Expendables, still showing in theaters nationwide, is released by MVP Pictures and locally distributed by Viva International Pictures.