Sun Sep 7, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger

'Bangkok Dangerous' Leads Weak Box Office

You can tell the summer is over just by looking at the box office gross chart and see that the cool films have arrived and we’re in a lull as people focus on school and the arrival of the fall television season.

The number film this weekend, based on Box Office Mojo projections, is Nicholas Cage’s Bangkok Dangerous, which didn’t even screen for critics so there was zero buzz surrounding the film.  As a result, it took in just $7,800,000 to nab the number slot, just a few hundred thousand ahead of Tropic Thunder, which grabbed $7.5 million for number two. With a total haul of $96,811,000, this is one successful comedy.

Showing surprisingly strength with a mere 29.1% drop off after three weeks of play is Amt Seadris’ The House Bunny with a total of $36,999,000. Comedy continues to do well as Pineapple Express remains in the week’s top ten with a total of $84,158,000, clearly profitable given its $27 million budget. On the other hand, Disaster Movie sits like the turkey it is, earning just $3.3 million this weekend.

Still in the top five is The Dark Knight, pushing its total take to $512,198,000 as its weekly numbers ease down.

Despite being disavowed by everyone but the audience, Babylon A.D. continues to chug along, grabbing $4,000,000 and bringing its total to  $17,198,000 which likely will make this yet another financial disappointment for 20th-Century Fox.

Rogue Pictures’ Death Race may have been lapped by most summer films but will easily outperform the summer’s first bomb, Speed Racer.     With a total of $29,793,000, it might actually earn the equivalent of its production budget, $45 million and make a profit once worldwide and ancillary income is factored in.

Surprising holdovers include Mamma Mia! which has earned a total of  $136,297,000 despite poor reviews.  The singalong numbers are rolled in here which may be one reason it’s still in the top ten.

In the genre, the horror film Mirrors is petering out at the $27,769,000 level and Warner clearly has to be disappointed with the lackluster performance of  Star Wars: The Clone Wars which sits at $32,776,000.  While profitable, it’s not the kind of numbers one sees for a Lucasfilm production. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has cracked the $100 million threshold and coupled with Journey to the Center of the Earth’s pleasantly surprising $96,764,000 means Brendan Fraser can still open movies. Wall*E , now in second run, is just about finished with a pleasant take of $219,405,000. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, now seen as the weak point to Universal’s good summer, finishes up with  $75,591,000.  As reported earlier this week, the jury remains out if Guillermo del Toro will be allowed to complete his trilogy. And brining up the rear is Universal’s bigger success, Wanted, which wraps up its run with a total take of $134,172,000.   

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