Stiller thunders past Batman
2008-08-18 13:10
Los Angeles - 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 on Sunday.
The Warner Bros Batman movie 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 is second only to Titanic ($600.8 million).
Taking inflation into account, The Dark Knight still lags well behind both movies in actual tickets sold. 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.
Tropic Thunder is the third R-rated movie to open recently
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 in third place with $15.5 million.
Families made up two-thirds of the audience for Clone Wars, Fellman said. Executive producer George Lucas intended the movie as an introduction to his Clone Wars TV show debuting this year on the Cartoon Network.
Tropic Thunder was the third R-rated comedy to open solidly in recent weeks, following Pineapple Express and Step Brothers. Most comedies are rated PG-13, since an R rating limits the audience by requiring those younger than 17 to come with an adult.
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.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday to Sunday at US and Canadian theatres, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released on 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 Travelling Pants 2, $5.9 million.
9. Step Brothers, $5 million.
10. Vicky Cristina Barcelona, $3.7 million.
- AP