Batman had a lot to live up to this weekend. He easily had the most hyped film of the summer and, at a price tag of nearly $200 million, one of the most expensive. In true form The Dark Knight rose to the occasion, wowing audiences and shattering box office records left and right.
For starters, the movie topped Revenge of the Sith's $16 million preview night record by a cool $2 million, setting a bar not likely to be topped any time soon. Next, Batsy racked up $66 million for a first day total, beating out Spider-man 3 which took in just under $60 million. For a coup d' gras The Dark Knight ousted Spider-man 3 from its position as the all time weekend opening weekend champion. Spidey debuted at $151 million. Batman eeked out a win with and estimated $155 million.
The Dark Knight entertained mass audiences on Friday night, but dropped sharply on Saturday, suggesting that the early wave might not promise anything about the movie's future success. This summer's biggest winners have enjoyed gross totals approximately triple their opening weekend. Dark Knight will be hard pressed to break the $450 million mark domestically, but at this point there's no doubt that Iron Man and Indiana Jones can stop bothering with their neck-and-neck race for first place. Two weeks from now, when Dark Knight cruises past, their summer struggle will be a distant memory.
Lest we forget, other movies came out this week as well. On almost any other weekend Mamma Mia's second place $27 million opening would have been solid, but under the weight of Batman vs. Joker it's a downright miracle. I guess you just can't keep Meryl Streep down, not even with an odd plot warped around a thinly disguised ABBA sing-along. Space Chimps hardly got off the launch pad. At $7 million and 7th place it has earned a place of distinction with other animated disasters like Barnyard and Doogal.
Hellboy 2 fell hard this weekend, slipping from first to fourth place and dropping a painful 71% compared to last weekend. Tread marks left by the two leftovers that surpassed him, Hancock and Journey to the Center of the Earth, wore painfully for the demon hero who may now have to rely on international sales to make back the budget.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE TOP TEN
July 18 - 20, 2008 |
LW = Last Week WR = Weeks Released
THTRS = Number of Screens
* Denotes new release.
Click on title to read CB Review |
| 1. | The Dark Knight * | $155,340,000 - Total: $155,340,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 4366 |
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| 2. | Mamma Mia! * | $27,605,000 - Total: $27,605,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2976 |
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| 3. | Hancock | $14,000,000 - Total: $191,504,000 | LW: 2 WR: 3 THTRS: 3776 |
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| 4. | Journey to the Center of the Earth | $11,910,000 - Total: $43,074,000 | LW: 3 WR: 2 THTRS: 2830 |
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| 5. | Hellboy II: The Golden Army | $10,038,000 - Total: $56,447,000 | LW: 1 WR: 2 THTRS: 3212 |
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| 6. | Wall-E | $9,813,000 - Total: $182,476,000 | LW: 4 WR: 4 THTRS: 3310 |
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| 7. | Space Chimps * | $7,350,000 - Total: $7,350,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2511 |
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| 8. | Wanted | $5,097,000 - Total: $123,347,000 | LW: 5 WR: 4 THTRS: 2433 |
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| 9. | Get Smart | $4,085,000 - Total: $119,569,000 | LW: 6 WR: 5 THTRS: 2135 |
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| 10. | Kung Fu Panda | $1,750,000 - Total: $206,506,000 | LW: 8 WR: 7 THTRS: 1505 |
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