Even though there were two new wide releases this weekend for audiences everywhere, the champion of all continues to be the one who toppled the previous two new wide releases from the weekends before. Yes, The Dark Knight has won the report for its fourth straight weekend since debuting in theaters, this time winning with an estimated $26.0 mil in box office sales. The Nolan-directed sequel is still showing in 4,025 theater prints across the nation so its average with audiences is still a respectable $6,467.
With this fourth victory, the film is now ranked on 3rd on the All-Time Blockbuster list with a domestic gross of $441.5 mil after 24 days of release. 2nd place is Star Wars with $460.9 mil while the 1st place still goes to James Cameron’s Titanic with its $600.7 mil payday. Although, if you adjust for inflation, that list is dramatically different with Gone With the Wind topping the list. Click here to see the inflation rankings.
Seth Rogen and James Franco find themselves in 2nd place with their debuting action-comedy Pineapple Express debuting in 3,072 theaters and pulling in an estimated $22.4 million in receipts. These numbers actually have it grabbing the highest weekend average for audiences with $7,291 per showing. If you include the overall debut (since the film opened on Wednesday), the film has pulled in an estimated $40.4 mil, making this yet another success for Rogen and Sony Pictures. The studio kept the budget down to only $27 mil, which insured profitable returns after only five days of release.
Universal Pictures finds The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor taking the 3rd spot with an estimated 60% drop this weekend by pulling in $16.1 million. I’d say this is drop is a bad thing but it’s not really the end of the world either. The film is doing respectable overall numbers worldwide. While the foreign numbers for this weekend are not yet in, if you include the film’s foreign gross of $141.0 mil and its domestic gross of $70.6 mil, the film has pulled in $211.6 mil after only ten days of release. Not bad at all for the studio.
Following in 4th place is Warner Bros. bringing its sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 into theaters with an estimated $10.7 mil in receipts this weekend. Like Pineapple, the film debuted on Wednesday and like the Rogen film, its budget was also kept low at just $27 mil. For its first five days, the sequel has grossed $19.7 mil domestically.
Sony grabbed another success by bringing Rogen back into its library of comedies and they also have another Will Ferrell success with Step Brothers already passing its budget line after three weekends at the box office. The Ferrell comedy lands in 5th place with an estimated $8.9 mil in receipts on its 3,182 theaters across the country. In three weekends, the film has grossed $80.9 mil, set against a budget of $65 mil. It has yet to be released in most foreign markets.
Universal Pictures has doubled their money with its alternative programming-minded musical Mamma Mia! as well. The film grabbed 6th place this weekend with $8.0 mil in sales, bringing its overall domestic gross to $104.0 mil. The studio lists the budget at only $52 mil. If you include the $140 mil it has made from foreign sales, the musical has a worldwide gross of $244.7 mil for Universal.
Brendan Fraser also has another success on his hands with the 3-D remake of Journey to the Center of the Earth for Warner Bros. and New Line. The remake has been out for five weeks now but continues pulling in steady numbers. This weekend, it landed in 7th place by taking another $4.8 mil, which has its total domestic gross sitting at $81.7 mil. The film has pulled in another $11.7 mil overseas so it has a worldwide gross of $93.4 mil with a budget of $60 mil.
Sony has a success with Pineapple Express and Step Brothers. It’s now time to talk about their third successful film, yet another part comedy, the Will Smith-vehicle Hancock. In its sixth weekend of release, the misguided superhero landed in 8th place by pulling in another $3.3 mil in sales while still getting shown in 2,258 theaters across the nation. The studio says the budget was at $150 mil and thus far, it has grossed $221.7 mil domestically and another $179.8 mil in foreign markets.
Disney takes the 9th and 10th spots for this report with their films Swing Vote and Wall-E. The Costner film pulled in another $3.1 mil, which has its domestic gross sitting at $12.0 mil after ten days of release. Since the studio kept the budget low at $21 mil, Disney has nothing to fear here.
Meanwhile, Wall-E has finished its seventh weekend of box office release by pulling in another $3.0 mil in receipts. The studio has the budget set at $180 mil while the film has grossed $210.1 mil domestically. It has yet to hit most foreign markets, having grossed only $3.1 with foreign audiences.
| Rank | Movie | Weekend | Theaters | Average | Total | Budget |
| 1 | The Dark Knight | $26.0 mil | 4,025 | $6,467 | $441.5 mil | $185 |
| 2 | Pineapple Express | $22.4 mil | 3,072 | $7,291 | $40.4 mil | $27 |
| 3 | The Mummy 3 | $16.1 mil | 3,778 | $4,264 | $70.6 mil | $145 |
| 4 | Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 | $10.7 mil | 2,707 | $3,978 | $19.7 mil | $27 |
| 5 | Step Brothers | $8.9 mil | 3,182 | $2,796 | $80.9 mil | $65 |
| 6 | Mamma Mia! | $8.0 mil | 3,194 | $2,530 | $104.0 mil | $52 |
| 7 | Journey to the Center of the Earth | $4.8 mil | 1,970 | $2,464 | $81.7 mil | $60 |
| 8 | Hancock | $3.3 mil | 2,258 | $1,461 | $221.7 mil | $150 |
| 9 | Swing Vote | $3.1 mil | 2,213 | $1,403 | $12.0 mil | $21 |
| 10 | Wall-E | $3.0 mil | 2,144 | $1,420 | $210.1 mil | $180 |
Budget: $185 mil
Opening: $100.1 mil
Domestic: $314.7 mil
Foreign: $430.0 mil
Worldwide: $744.8 mil
Budget: $180 mil
Opening: $158.4 mil
Domestic: $441.5 mil
Foreign: $263.1 mil
Worldwide: $704.6 mil
Budget: $140 mil
Opening: $98.6 mil
Domestic: $316.4 mil
Foreign: $251.7 mil
Worldwide: $568.1 mil
Budget: $150 mil
Opening: $62.6 mil
Domestic: $221.7 mil
Foreign: $179.8 mil
Worldwide: $401.5 mil
Budget: $65 mil
Opening: $57.0 mil
Domestic: $151.6 mil
Foreign: $221.6 mil
Worldwide: $373.2 mil
Budget: $130 mil
Opening: $60.2 mil
Domestic: $211.3 mil
Foreign: $154.1 mil
Worldwide: $365.4 mil
Budget: $200 mil
Opening: $55.0 mil
Domestic: $140.8 mil
Foreign: $161.5 mil
Worldwide: $302.4 mil
Budget: $52 mil
Opening: $27.7 mil
Domestic: $104.0 mil
Foreign: $173.4 mil
Worldwide: $277.4 mil
Budget: $150 mil
Opening: $55.4 mil
Domestic: $133.8 mil
Foreign: $95.1 mil
Worldwide: $228.9 mil
Budget: $75 mil
Opening: $50.9 mil
Domestic: $132.6 mil
Foreign: $95.4 mil
Worldwide: $228.0 mil
Budget: $180 mil
Opening: $63.0 mil
Domestic: $210.1 mil
Foreign: $3.1 mil
Worldwide: $213.2 mil
Budget: $145 mil
Opening: $42.4 mil
Domestic: $70.6 mil
Foreign: $141.0 yet
Worldwide: $211.6 mil
Budget: $80 mil
Opening: $38.6 mil
Domestic: $127.4 mil
Foreign: $73.6 mil
Worldwide: $201.0 mil
Budget: $60 mil
Opening: $30.5 mil
Domestic: $64.1 mil
Foreign: $78.9 mil
Worldwide: $143.1 mil
Budget: $120 mil
Opening: $18.5 mil
Domestic: $43.9 mil
Foreign: $42.2 mil
Worldwide: $86.1 mil
Budget: $85 mil
Opening: $34.5 mil
Domestic: $73.5 mil
Foreign: N/A yet
Worldwide: $73.5 mil
It may finally be time for The Dark Knight to relinquish its #1 spot for next weekend’s box office report. Notice how I say may here, given its previous victories over the last three weekends. Still, the film has been seen by just about everyone who wants to see it by now and we have some wider demographic competition hitting theaters next Friday.
Paramount and DreamWorks are set to release Tropic Thunder on 3,000 theaters while Warner Bros. is poised to launch their CGI vehicle Star Wars: The Clone Wars on 3,300+ theaters. At the same time, Fox is launching their horror film Mirrors on 2,600 theaters.
With that much competition, it’s hard to see The Dark Knight winning for a fifth straight time.
Friday August 15, 2008 Releases:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (3,300+ theaters)
Tropic Thunder (3,000 theaters)
Mirrors (2,600 theaters)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (700 theaters)
Fly Me to the Moon – 3D (500 theaters)
Henry Poole is Here (500 theaters)
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