The Expendables 2 opens strongly; The Sapphires now just shy of $10m

Over-the-top action film The Expendables 2 has had a strong showing for distributor Roadshow Films in its opening weekend at the Australian box office.

The film took a hefty $10,734 screen average across 276 screens, for a $2.963m total.

Directed by Simon West, the British director is scheduled to helm Australian film Dust and Glory, written by Robert Galinsky and currently in pre-production.

The action film stars a cast of the best of the 1980s and 90s action heroes including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jean Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris as well as Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.