The Box-Office Top Five
#1 "The Dark Knight" ($75.6 one thousand thousand)
#2 "Step Brothers" ($30 million)
#3 "Mamma Mia!" ($17.9 million)
#4 "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" ($10.2 million)
#5 "Journey to the Center of the Earth" ($9.4 million)
In the opening scene of "The Dark Knight," the Joker robs millions from Gotham National Bank, setting off a chain reaction that spirals the city into a cycle of despair and chaos. Maybe, instead, he should have just waited for his residuals?
For the second hebdomad in a row, Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" kicked and smashed its way to a elephantine win at the domestic box power, earning $75.6 million over the weekend for a 10-day total of $314.2 million.
To put those numbers into perspective, after simply 10 days "The Dark Knight" is already the second-highest-grossing photographic film of 2008, just behind the three-month haul of "Iron Man." But forget Tony Stark, the Scarecrow, the Penguin and even the Riddler � Batman's greatest opposition at this point isn't another superhero or some crazy scoundrel, but history. Let us count the records: With $75.6 million, "The Dark Knight" scored the highest second-weekend total of all time (Pow!); the highest 10-day total always, besting "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" by more than $50 million (Smash!), and the record for fastest cinema to stumble $300 million (Crunch!). It's also already among the top 25 highest-grossing films of all time; and it's the one recent movie with a decent shot at potentially thrashing "Star Wars" by landing in the neighborhood of half a billion dollars in the U.S. solitary. And, again, it's been out for 10 days. (Wow!)
Send up a signal, Commissioner Gordon � it's time to start mentation about "Batman 3."
("Dark Knight" scribe David Goyer says he's got an melodic theme for "Batman 3." Help us figure out what it is on the Movies Blog.)
Like last weekend's box business office, there was Batman and then thither was everybody else. But other films did handle to do some business, most notably Will Ferrell's "Step Brothers," which scored $30 gazillion to come in endorsement place. The comedy about a couple of middle age men stuck in arrested development was the fourth-highest opening of Ferrell's career.
In third post, the dulcet tones of Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan (OK, not Pierce Brosnan) helped their ABBA-palooza "Mamma Mia!" to fall only 35 percent, pickings in some other $17.9 million. With an boilersuit total of $62.7 million, the musical is a sure bet to crack $100 million domestic.
The same cannot be aforesaid of "The X-Files: I Want to Believe," which tanked at the box office after the franchise's protracted hiatus away from the limelight, earning a dismal $10.2 meg to derive in fourth place. Called for commentary, a representative from the film aforesaid that all their usual supporters were abducted by aliens. Go figure.
Rounding out the top five, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" earned $9.4 million, bringing its three-week tot up to a very respectable $60 million.
Upcoming Releases
Can Batman win three fights in a row? We'll say this: It'll be close, as "Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" opens in 3,600 theaters. Also opening in all-encompassing release is "Swing Vote," a Capra-esque comedy star Kevin Costner as a man wHO gets to decide the presidential election.
Check out everything we've got on "The Dark Knight," "Step Brothers" and "Mamma Mia!"
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