By Franck Tabouring

Weekend of July 18 – 20, 2008

“The Dark Knight” stormed to the top of the North American box office this weekend with $158.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Praised by critics nationwide, Christopher Nolan’s anticipated follow-up to “Batman Begins” easily slashed its competition, beating the all-time $151.1 million opening record of “Spider-Man 3.”

Starring Christian Bale, the action adventure follows Batman as he struggles to protect Gotham City against the ruthless attacks from the Joker (Heath Ledger). “The Dark Knight” also outperformed its predecessor, which opened with only $48.7 million in 2005.

Debuting in second place with $27.7 million was Universal’s “Mamma Mia!” Based on the popular Broadway musical and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, the movie centers on a bride-to-be (Amanda Seyfried) who tracks down three men who may be her real father.

At No. 3, Sony’s action spectacle “Hancock” took in $14 million, lifting its domestic total to $191.5 million after three weeks in release. The Peter Berg-directed adventure stars Will Smith as a drunken superhero who agrees to revamp his damaged image within the community.

Meanwhile, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” slipped to No. 4 with a weekend gross of $12.3 million, reaching a cumulative of $43.5 million after a two-week run. Distributed by New Line Cinema, the 3-D live-action family flick follows a scientist on his quest to locate a secret world at the core of the Earth.

Last week’s box office winner “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” tumbled to fifth place, collecting $10.1 million and bringing its total haul to $56.5 million. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, the sequel to 2004’s “Hellboy” stars Ron Perlman as a friendly demon who protects mankind from the dark forced of the underworld.

Pixar’s computer-animated family adventure “WALL-E” earned $10 million this weekend, reaching a domestic total of $182.7 million after four weeks in release. Directed by Andrew Stanton, the film tells of a small robot who falls for a probe droid.

New entry "Space Chimps" landed at No. 7 with only $7.1 million from ticket sales at 2,511 sites. Slashed by the nation’s top critics, the sci-fi family flick follows three NASA chimps on their quest to protect the inhabitants of an uncharted planet against their ruthless leader.

Following closely at No. 8 was Timur Bekmambetov’s action hit “Wanted,” which took home $5 million and lifted its cumulative gross to $123.3 million after four weeks in release. Starring James McAvoy, the flick centers on a nobody whose life takes a drastic turn when he joins a fraternity of assassins.

Two films rounded out the top ten: “Get Smart” picked up $4.1 million at No. 9, while DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda” finished with $1.8 million in tenth place.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)