2. "Julie & Julia" ($20.1 million)

3. "G-Force" ($9.8 million)

4. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" ($8.9 million)

5. "Funny People" ($7.9 million)

Don't ever let anybody tell you that fighting for freedom wherever there's trouble is easy. Despite becoming the fourth biggest August debut of all time thanks to a strong $22.3 million Friday opening, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" only earned $18 million on Saturday, a 16% drop from its opening day figures. The result is a projected $56.2 million opening weekend according to studio number-crunchers.

Deadline Hollywood Daily points out that the movie's solid rankings -- it scored a B+ CinemaScore rating and an A- for viewers under 18-years-old -- are deceiving given the hefty price it cost to film "G.I. Joe" in the first place. With some high profile pictures coming out in the next two weeks, including "District 9" and the long-awaited "Inglourious Basterds" from Quentin Tarantino, it's unlikely that "Cobra" will rise to Paramount's $300 million projection. Still, where the film could fail in ticket prices, it's likely to pick up in action figures and related merchandise.

While "G.I. Joe" got tangled in the trenches, "Julie & Julia" cooked up a surprising amount of success. The film opened to $7.5 million on Friday, increasing to $7.8 million the following day. Current estimates peg the Julia Child biopic at a $20.1 million opening weekend. One of the key ingredients to "Julia's" success is the specific audience that's flocking to theaters. "This was maybe the oldest audience I can remember," a rival studio executive told Deadline Hollywood Daily. "55% of the moviegoers were over the age of 50."

The bottom three contenders remain in place, with "G-Force" yielding $4.1 million on Saturday and a weekend total of $9.8 million. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Funny People" raked in $3.7 million and $3 million on Saturday respectively with a weekend total of $8.9 million and $7.9 million.

Have you gotten out for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" or "Julie & Julia" yet? Have their performances matched or diverged from your own predictions? Let us know in the comments section or on Twitter!