Now, the victory was not quite as dramatic as it would have been a few weeks ago, but it finally happened. At this point, The Dark Knight is still pulling in crowds and suffering smaller percentage drops than anyone would have anticipated, but it is inevitable that the box office will drop, theater counts will fall and it will eventually give way to other films. If nothing else, it may go away, but it will leave a lasting mark on the box office. It is currently the second biggest domestic hit of all time, having just passed Star Wars. Sure, it will not come close to Titanic's record and when grosses are adjusted it falls much farther down the list, but it is still quite an accomplishment, one that no one saw coming.
As for the film that did take the top spot, Tropic Thunder, it did it in definitive fashion, but it failed to live up to studio expectations, which were in the $40 million range. As for the film itself, I found it to be absolutely hilarious. The movie is a smart satire that targets the movie making industry as much as it is a straight action comedy. It is intelligent enough to work on both levels.
Tropic Thunder was one of four new films to enter the top ten this week. Coming in third place is the very first animated take on Star Wars to reach the big screen. Star Wars: The Clone Wars arrived to poor critical word, but it is not nearly as bad as those reviews would have you believe. It is not great by any stretch, but it is entertaining. Hopefully when the series that it launches begins it will only go up.
Next up is Mirrors in fourth place. The horror film from director Alexandre Aja (Haute Tension) is filled with creepy atmosphere and little else. If you are a horror junkie or a Kiefer Sutherland fan, by all means go check it out, otherwise I would have no problem recommending that you wait for DVD. I suspect this will fall off in short order.
Finally, rounding out the list in tenth place is the latest Woody Allen outing, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Now, here is a movie with some good dialogue and performances that fails to connect. It is a step up from his last outing, Cassandra's Dream, but that isn't really saying much.
As for the returning films The Dark Knight leads the way with a drop of merely 37%, an extraordinary hold for a blockbuster (and it deserves everything it gets). Mamma Mia! also had a great hold, dropping just 25%. Most of the other films had moderate drop offs in the usual range, with Pineapple Express suffering the biggest drop, falling 57%.
Next week will see competition from the Rainn Wilson vehicle The Rocker (on Wednesday), Jason Statham in Death Race (odds on to win the weekend), Anna Faris in The House Bunny, and Ice Cube's The Longshots. Also, Hamlet 2 opens in limited release.
Four movies dropped off the top ten this week: Journey to the Center of the Earth (11), Wall*E (13), Hancock (14), and Swing Vote (15).
| This Week | Last Week | Title | Wknd Gross | Overall | Week in release |
| 1 | N | Tropic Thunder | $25,812,796 | $36,845,588 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | The Dark Knight | $16,379,293 | $471,082,150 | 5 |
| 3 | N | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | $14,611,273 | $14,611,273 | 1 |
| 4 | N | Mirrors | $11,161,074 | $11,161,074 | 1 |
| 5 | 2 | Pineapple Express | $9,808,295 | $62,740,789 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | $8,205,720 | $86,245,775 | 3 |
| 7 | 6 | Mamma Mia! | $6,096,250 | $116,013,715 | 5 |
| 8 | 4 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 | $5,785,250 | $32,002,712 | 2 |
| 9 | 5 | Step Brothers | $4,807,904 | $90,695,938 | 4 |
| 10 | N | Vicky Cristina Barcelona | $3,755,575 | $3,755,575 | 1 |
Box Office Predictions Recap
Well, it was not all that great of a week for my guesstimates. I was able to get four places in the correct slots, while the ones I got wrong were just flipped. Come to think of it, I was very close to getting all those spots correct, as Maxwell Smart would say: "Missed it by that much!" And so goes my hopes of having consecutive strong weeks of guesses. As far as my gross guesses go they are not terrible, but I could have been better. My biggest gaffe would have to be overestimating Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Oh well, there's always next week.
Here is how the field matched up:
| Actual | Prediction | Title | Wknd Gross | Prediction |
| 1 | 1 | Tropic Thunder | $25,812,796 | $32 million |
| 3 | 2 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | $14,611,273 | $22 million |
| 2 | 3 | The Dark Knight | $16,379,293 | $18 million |
| 5 | 4 | Pineapple Express | $9,808,295 | $14 million |
| 4 | 5 | Mirrors | $11,161,074 | $10 million |
| 6 | 6 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | $8,205,720 | $7 million |
| 8 | 7 | Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 | $5,785,250 | $5.5 million |
| 7 | 8 | Mamma Mia! | $6,096,250 | $4.5 million |
| 9 | 9 | Step Brothers | $4,807,904 | $4 million |
| 10 | 10 | Vicky Cristina Barcelona | $3,755,575 | $2.5 million |
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