Spoof Soars, Bat Drops, Clones Sink
The Dark Knight surpassed Star Wars twice this weekend. First, it firmly grabbed second place on the All Time Box Office charts with a total now estimated at $471,493,000. Its weekend take of $16,790,000 also surpassed the debut of the CGI-animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars which managed a so-so $15,505,000. The film received mixed reviews and little in the way of anticipatory buzz so its performance over the next week or two will be telling.
It appears, though, it’s time again for more diverting fare as the actor spoof Tropic Thunder nabbed the top spot with a weekend gross of $26,000,000, and a total of $37,033,000 since its Wednesday opening. The other comedy, Pineapple Express, is holding on with another $10,000,000 for the second weekend. Its total now stands at $62,932,000 but will reach profitability far faster than Tropic given that it cost one-third of Tropic’s $90,000,000 to produce.
20th-Century Fox, which has had a miserable summer, finally got some good news when Mirrors opened with $11,125,000, exceeding studio estimates by 10%.
Universal’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor continues to wrap up bucks for the pyramids. The film brought in $8,609,0; its total now stands at $86,649,000. While it will likely crack $100 million, this is not what the studio had expected.
Showing surprising stamina is New Line’s Journey to the Center of the Earth with another $3,455,000 found beneath the surface. The 3-D film has proven the 3D fad may be here to stay and its total of $88,110,000 may be a harbinger of things to come as 2009 boasts over half-a-dozen 3D projects on the schedule.
Older films are running out the string starting with Disney’s Wall*E, totaling $214,134,000 and no doubt gearing up for a holiday season DVD release. Similarly, Sony’s Hancock grabbed $1.8 million this weekend but is slowing down and has an impressive haul of $225,102,000.
Other genre offerings rounding out the list this weekend include the following with their domestic releases totals to date:
Space Chimps: $27,607,000
Hellboy II: The Golden Army: $74,639,000
Wanted: $133,327,000
Iron Man: $317,044,000
Kung Fu Panda: $211,936,000
The Incredible Hulk: $134,183,000
Re: Journey to the Center of the Earth. I'm amazed that Wall*E and Star Wars: The Clone Wars didn't come out in 3D in some theaters or IMAX. Rerendering CGI movies for 3D is relatively easy.