comedyfreak
08-24-2008, 05:08 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) The action comedy "Tropic Thunder" weathered a rush of new movies to remain No. 1 for a second-straight weekend with $16.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Paramount-DreamWorks release starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black as actors caught up in real battle while shooting a war movie raised its 12-day total to $65.7 million.
"Tropic Thunder" came in just ahead of Sony's campus comedy "The House Bunny," which debuted in second place with $15.1 million. "The House Bunny" stars Anna Faris as an ostracized Playboy bunny who becomes den mother to a sorority of campus misfits.
Universal's "Death Race" an update of 1975's "Death Race 2000," with Jason Statham starring as a driver in a kill-or-be-killed auto race of the future opened at No. 3 with $12.3 million.
The weekend's other new wide releases, Ice Cube's sports drama "The Longshots" and Rainn Wilson's music comedy "The Rocker" opened weakly.
"The Longshots" an MGM-Weinstein Co. release starring Ice Cube as a former high school star coaching his niece, the first girl to play Pop Warner football came in at No. 8 with $4.3 million.
20th Century Fox's "The Rocker," starring Wilson as an over-the-hill heavy-metal drummer who gets a chance at stardom with a high school band, took in $2.8 million to finish at No. 12.
After a run of blockbuster weekends, late summer was proving the usual dumping ground for modest movies as business slowed and audiences eased into back-to-school mode.
That opened the door for "Tropic Thunder" to repeat as the weekend's box-office leader.
"There isn't that divide where there's a couple of huge movies coming every week," said DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan.
Summer's biggest hit, "The Dark Knight" continued its climb up the box-office charts, placing fourth with $10.3 million. The Warner Bros. Batman sequel has taken in $489.2 million on its way to becoming the second film ever to top $500 million, after "Titanic" ($600.8 million).
Overall movie revenues of $3.9 billion are slightly ahead of last summer's record pace. But higher admission prices mean the actual number of tickets sold is down about 3 percent compared to summer 2007, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
Still, Hollywood should finish with a box-office record and a second-straight summer topping the $4 billion mark.
"Thank you, `Dark Knight.' That's added close to half a billion dollars," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "One film like `The Dark Knight' can make a huge difference."
In limited release, Focus Features' comedy "Hamlet 2" pulled in $435,000. Starring Steve Coogan as a high school drama teacher staging a campy, irreverent musical sequel to Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet 2" expands into nationwide release Wednesday.
Weekend Box Office Estimates (U.S.)
This Wk Last Wk Title Dist. Weekend Gross Cumulative
Gross Rlse
Wks # of
Theaters
1 1 Tropic Thunder DreamWorks Pictures $16,100,000 $65,668,000 2 3352
2 - The House Bunny Sony Pictures Releasing $15,100,000 $15,100,000 1 2714
3 - Death Race Universal Pictures $12,293,000 $12,293,000 1 2532
4 2 The Dark Knight Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $10,305,000 $489,179,000 6 3163
5 3 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $5,660,000 $24,998,000 2 3452
6 5 Pineapple Express Sony Pictures Releasing $5,600,000 $73,928,000 3 2620
7 4 Mirrors 20th Century Fox $4,875,000 $20,075,000 2 2664
8 - The Longshots Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) $4,304,000 $4,304,000 1 2089
9 7 Mamma Mia! Universal Pictures Distribution $4,303,000 $124,458,000 6 2326
10 6 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Universal Pictures Distribution $4,069,000 $93,812,000 4 2422
11 10 Vicky Cristina Barcelona MGM Distribution Company, The Weinstein Company $3,003,000 $8,569,000 2 692
12 - The Rocker 20th Century Fox Distribution $2,750,000 $3,800,000 1 2784
The Paramount-DreamWorks release starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black as actors caught up in real battle while shooting a war movie raised its 12-day total to $65.7 million.
"Tropic Thunder" came in just ahead of Sony's campus comedy "The House Bunny," which debuted in second place with $15.1 million. "The House Bunny" stars Anna Faris as an ostracized Playboy bunny who becomes den mother to a sorority of campus misfits.
Universal's "Death Race" an update of 1975's "Death Race 2000," with Jason Statham starring as a driver in a kill-or-be-killed auto race of the future opened at No. 3 with $12.3 million.
The weekend's other new wide releases, Ice Cube's sports drama "The Longshots" and Rainn Wilson's music comedy "The Rocker" opened weakly.
"The Longshots" an MGM-Weinstein Co. release starring Ice Cube as a former high school star coaching his niece, the first girl to play Pop Warner football came in at No. 8 with $4.3 million.
20th Century Fox's "The Rocker," starring Wilson as an over-the-hill heavy-metal drummer who gets a chance at stardom with a high school band, took in $2.8 million to finish at No. 12.
After a run of blockbuster weekends, late summer was proving the usual dumping ground for modest movies as business slowed and audiences eased into back-to-school mode.
That opened the door for "Tropic Thunder" to repeat as the weekend's box-office leader.
"There isn't that divide where there's a couple of huge movies coming every week," said DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan.
Summer's biggest hit, "The Dark Knight" continued its climb up the box-office charts, placing fourth with $10.3 million. The Warner Bros. Batman sequel has taken in $489.2 million on its way to becoming the second film ever to top $500 million, after "Titanic" ($600.8 million).
Overall movie revenues of $3.9 billion are slightly ahead of last summer's record pace. But higher admission prices mean the actual number of tickets sold is down about 3 percent compared to summer 2007, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
Still, Hollywood should finish with a box-office record and a second-straight summer topping the $4 billion mark.
"Thank you, `Dark Knight.' That's added close to half a billion dollars," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "One film like `The Dark Knight' can make a huge difference."
In limited release, Focus Features' comedy "Hamlet 2" pulled in $435,000. Starring Steve Coogan as a high school drama teacher staging a campy, irreverent musical sequel to Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet 2" expands into nationwide release Wednesday.
Weekend Box Office Estimates (U.S.)
This Wk Last Wk Title Dist. Weekend Gross Cumulative
Gross Rlse
Wks # of
Theaters
1 1 Tropic Thunder DreamWorks Pictures $16,100,000 $65,668,000 2 3352
2 - The House Bunny Sony Pictures Releasing $15,100,000 $15,100,000 1 2714
3 - Death Race Universal Pictures $12,293,000 $12,293,000 1 2532
4 2 The Dark Knight Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $10,305,000 $489,179,000 6 3163
5 3 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $5,660,000 $24,998,000 2 3452
6 5 Pineapple Express Sony Pictures Releasing $5,600,000 $73,928,000 3 2620
7 4 Mirrors 20th Century Fox $4,875,000 $20,075,000 2 2664
8 - The Longshots Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) $4,304,000 $4,304,000 1 2089
9 7 Mamma Mia! Universal Pictures Distribution $4,303,000 $124,458,000 6 2326
10 6 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Universal Pictures Distribution $4,069,000 $93,812,000 4 2422
11 10 Vicky Cristina Barcelona MGM Distribution Company, The Weinstein Company $3,003,000 $8,569,000 2 692
12 - The Rocker 20th Century Fox Distribution $2,750,000 $3,800,000 1 2784