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.
