"Thunder" Claps "Knight" Off Perch

Takes Weekend Box Office Crown, After Batman Flick Had Won It 4 Weeks In Row

(AP)  It took four of Hollywood's biggest stars to take down Batman.

The DreamWorks-Paramount comedy "Tropic Thunder" - with Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise - debuted at No. 1 with $26 million, bumping "The Dark Knight" to second place after four weekends on top, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Warner Bros. Batman flick pulled in $16.8 million to raise its total to $471.5 million. "The Dark Knight" passed the original "Star Wars" ($461 million) and now stands as No. 2 on the all-time domestic charts, behind only "Titanic" ($600.8 million).

Taking inflation into account, "The Dark Knight" trails both movies in actual tickets sold, however. "The Dark Knight" would need to gross about $900 million to match the number of admissions for "Titanic" and about $1.2 billion to equal "Star Wars."

Warner Bros. expects "The Dark Knight" to top out at about $530 million domestically, said Dan Fellman, the studio's head of distribution.

"The Dark Knight" managed to fend off another "Star Wars" movie this weekend. The animated tale "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," also released by Warner Bros., opened at No. 3 with $15.5 million.

Families made up two-thirds of the audience for "Clone Wars," Fellman said. "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, who has an executive producer credit on "Clone Wars," intended the movie as an introduction to his "Clone Wars" TV show debuting this fall on the Cartoon Network.

"It was targeted to a specific audience for specific reasons," Fellman said. "We accomplished that mission, and it will continue in another medium."

"Tropic Thunder" was the third R-rated comedy to open solidly in recent weeks, following "Pineapple Express" and "Step Brothers." Most summer comedies are rated PG-13, since an R rating limits the audience by requiring anyone younger than 17 to come with an adult.

R-rated comedy hits tend to open in the $20 million to $30 million range, lower than their PG-13 counterparts, but often have a longer shelf life in theaters as audiences spread the word. R-rated movies such as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" all opened around those levels and went on to become $100 million hits.

"We're thrilled, quite frankly. It played out exactly how we hoped," said DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan.

Stiller directed and co-wrote "Tropic Thunder," in which he stars with Downey and Black as pampered actors who find themselves in a real combat situation while shooting a Vietnam War epic in the Asian jungles. Cruise co-stars as a bald, egomaniacal studio boss.

"Tropic Thunder" raised its total to $37 million since opening Wednesday.

The 20th Century Fox horror tale "Mirrors," starring Kiefer Sutherland as a security guard whose family is terrorized by spirits, opened at No. 4 with $11.1 million.

Woody Allen returned to commercial form with his Spanish romance "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," which opened at No. 10 with $3.7 million.

The movie played in narrower release, 692 theaters compared with 3,000-plus for "Tropic Thunder" and "Clone Wars." Still, it opened far wider than most Allen films, which usually start in a handful of theaters and gradually expand.

"You never can predict how something's going to do, but we felt that the movie is so strong, we just needed to get it out there," said Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Co. released the movie under its distribution agreement with MGM. "The audience reaction is terrific."

Summit Entertainment's "Fly Me to the Moon," a 3-D animated tale about three flies that tag along on the Apollo 11 moon landing, debuted in 452 theaters and took in $2 million, finishing at No. 12.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Tropic Thunder," $26 million.

2. "The Dark Knight," $16.8 million.

3. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," $15.5 million.

4. "Mirrors," $11.1 million.

5. "Pineapple Express," $10 million.

6. "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," $8.6 million.

7. "Mamma Mia!", $6.5 million.

8. "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," $5.9 million.

9. "Step Brothers," $5 million.

10. "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," $3.7 million.

[xlib]

No mention of "the so called" R word controversy. Funny how some things are OK while others aren''t. Still think we aren''t controlled by the media??

[questionnews]

The wife suckered me into going to see Mamma Mia. My God what a heaping pile of steaming $%#@!!
I have been trying to think of a way to get back at her for this, but aside from abandoning her in the middle of the desert without food & water I don''t I''ll ever be able to get even with her.

[pmaldona]

The wife suckered me into going to see Mamma Mia. My God what a heaping pile of steaming $%#@!!
I have been trying to think of a way to get back at her for this, but aside from abandoning her in the middle of the desert without food & water I don''''t I''''ll ever be able to get even with her.
-----
HILARIOUS! I feel sorry for you dude but now it should be your turn to drag her to a movie. On a side note, I heard Tropic Thunder was quite funny..Batman is slowing down, I don''t think it will pass Titanic''s mark but I will be going to see it again...Pineapple Express was my ish...

[cdfoxtrot2]

No mention of "the so called" R word controversy. Funny how some things are OK while others aren''''t. Still think we aren''''t controlled by the media??

Posted by Xlib

Just a few extremists making noise about use of the word "re_tard". Most people have a life, so it''s not even a small deal to the vast, vast majority of people. Hence the lack of mention.

Go watch the movie, and see for yourself. With actors like Robert Downey, Tom Cruise, et al, it''s got to be good.

[nolle61]

On behalf of the producers of this film, I''d like to personally thank Timmy Shriver (of the Kennedy clan) for the estimated 26 million in ticket sales.

Your controversy and attempt to "ban" a movie in the United States of America has once again proven to boost ticket sales and put more money in our pockets.

Thank you Mr. Shriver.

Talk about a R-E-T-A-R-D!!

[lamottjackson]

Tropic Thunder was hilarious. Everyone''s making this a big controversy for nothing. The movie slams actors that go to great lengths to win Oscars, it makes fun of itself where at times is very "inside" if you know the business. Those that were offended by the word "***" have not seen the movie, if they had, they''d understand why that word, and issue was addressed in the first place. Go out & see "Tropic Thunder" A.S.A.P., it''s one of many well written, VERY FUNNY R-Rated comedies to come out this year, and I hope more will debut in the future.

[jboxton]

Oh come on. People protesting this movie are hypocrites. We all laugh at and make fun of retarded people (if only in private). Anyone who says they don''t is lying. Everyone in this world gets made of for something. Black, white, Asian, gay, straight. Everyone. We make fun of retarded people, just like they may make fun of amputees or some other group. Same as making fun of someone''s ethnic background. No one is protected from being made fun of. That''s the way we deal with life. Just because you wear a crash helmet doesn''t make you off limits.

[linfinster]

The wife suckered me into going to see Mamma Mia. My God what a heaping pile of steaming $%#@!!
I have been trying to think of a way to get back at her for this, but aside from abandoning her in the middle of the desert without food & water I don''''t I''''ll ever be able to get even with her.

Posted by Questionnews at 10:28 AM : Aug 18, 2008


LOLOLOLOL IT WAS NOT!! ahahaha you poor thing! Did you even see the previews? You should have looked it up on the internet at LEAST! Serves you right! Don''t make that mistake again. And if your girlfriend had to "sucker" you into this movie, ahem ... then you''re just being plain neglectful!

[avigil2]

"The wife suckered me into going to see Mamma Mia. My God what a heaping pile of steaming $%#@!!
I have been trying to think of a way to get back at her for this..."

posted by Questionnews

That''s what you get for listening to your wife. Take her to go see THE HOUSE BUNNY, opens this Friday.