Weekend Wrap-Up
Dark Knight Dethroned
By John Hamann
August 17, 2008
The ickiness continues in sixth, as that spot is reserved for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. After dropping 59% last weekend, from its $40.5 million opening to a $16.5 million sophomore session, The Mummy plunged again, earning a slim $8.6 million and dropping 48%. With its $145 million budget, and $86.6 million gross so far, some might think Universal is in for some financial trouble with this one, but Tomb has already grossed more than $165 million overseas, so it could still hit $300 million worldwide.
Seventh goes to Mamma Mia!, which has another great weekend, its fifth. Mamma Mia! earned $6.5 million this weekend, and drops a mere 21%. The Meryl Streep musical has had weekend drops of 36%, 29%, and 35%, on its way to its $125 million plus finish. Currently, this one has earned $116.4 million against a $50 million production budget. Did I mention it's almost doubled that gross overseas? It has, and has now passed $300 million in worldwide sales.
Finishing eighth is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, a movie about a group of nuns who track a traveling pair of pants to exotic world locations. Okay, that might not be it, but I can tell you that Pants 2 earned $5.9 million and drops a rough 44% in its second weekend. Pants 2, with its $25 million production budget, has now earned $32.1 million.
Ninth is the other Apatow in the top ten, Step Brothers. The Sony comedy earned $5 million this weekend, bringing the total for this one up to $90.9 million.
Woody Allen actually makes a top 12 appearance for the first time since Anything Else opened in September 2003 in 12th with a gross of $1.7 million. His last top ten finish was with Small Time Crooks in May of 2000. Vicky Cristina Barcelona brings him back this weekend, as the Scarlett Johansson/Penelope Cruz drama earned $3.7 million from 692 venues (per venue average: $5,361). Simply put, women kissing equals box office.
Overall, the box office is on a similar pace with last year's totals. This weekend, the top 12 films at the box office combined to earn an estimated $114.5 million, almost exactly equal to the $114 million that Superbad and friends earned last year. Next weekend opens dumping season at the box office, as we get The Rocker, The House Bunny, Death Race, and The Longshots. Huzzah.
| 1 |
Tropic Thunder |
DreamWorks |
$26,000,000 |
$25,812,796 |
New |
$36,845,588 |
| 2 |
The Dark Knight |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
$16,790,000 |
$16,379,293 |
- 37.3% |
$471,082,150 |
| 3 |
Star Wars: The Clone Wars |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
$15,505,000 |
$14,611,273 |
New |
$14,611,273 |
| 4 |
Mirrors |
Twentieth Century Fox |
$11,125,000 |
$11,161,074 |
New |
$11,161,074 |
| 5 |
The Pineapple Express |
Sony/Columbia |
$10,000,000 |
$9,808,295 |
- 57.8% |
$62,740,789 |
| 6 |
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor |
Universal |
$8,609,280 |
$8,205,720 |
- 50.2% |
$86,245,775 |
| 7 |
Mamma Mia! |
Universal |
$6,497,995 |
$6,096,250 |
- 25.7% |
$116,013,715 |
| 8 |
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
$5,930,000 |
$5,785,250 |
- 45.8% |
$32,002,712 |
| 9 |
Step Brothers |
Columbia Pictures (Sony) |
$5,000,000 |
$4,807,904 |
- 47.3% |
$90,695,938 |
| 10 |
Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
The Weinstein Company |
$3,710,000 |
$3,755,575 |
New |
$3,755,575 |
| 11 |
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
$3,455,000 |
$3,348,341 |
- 31.3% |
$88,002,999 |
| 12 |
Fly Me to the Moon |
Summit Entertainment |
$2,000,000 |
$1,900,523 |
New |
$1,900,523 |
| |
Also Opening/Notables |
| |
Henry Poole Is Here |
MGM |
$800,000 |
$805,219 |
New |
$805,219 |
| |
Bottle Shock |
Freestyle Releasing |
$406,313 |
$392,440 |
+ 41.2% |
$837,155 |
|
Click here for all weekend data
|
|
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
|
Continued:
1
2
3
|
|
|
|
Print this column
