Box Office: 'The Dark Knight' crushes 'Pineapple'
Monday, August 11, 2008 at 12:34AM | By Franck Tabouring 
By Franck Tabouring
Weekend of August 8 – 10, 2008
“The Dark Knight” topped the North American box office for the fourth consecutive weekend with $26 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Lifting its total gross to $441.5 million, Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed sequel to “Batman Begins” climbed to the third spot on the all-time domestic box office chart. This puts “The Dark Knight” right behind “Star Wars” and “Titanic,” which reached $460.9 million and $600.7 million respectively.
Debuting in second place with $22.4 million was David Gordon Green’s stoner action comedy “Pineapple Express,” which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as two potheads on the run from a bunch of ruthless criminals. Since its release Wednesday, the R-rated film has grossed $40.4 million.
Meanwhile, Universal’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” tumbled to No. 3, earning $16.1 million and reaching a total haul of $70.6 million after two weeks in release. Directed by Rob Cohen, the sequel to “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns” stars Brendan Fraser as a an explorer struggling to take down China’s Dragon Emperor (Jet Li).
New entry “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” collected $10.7 million in fourth place, bringing its five-day cumulative gross to $19.7 million. Starring Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera and Blake Lively, the film follows four best girlfriends as they embark on their first year of college and the summer beyond.
At No. 5, Sony’s comedy “Step Brothers” took home $8.9 million, lifting its domestic gross to $80.9 million after a strong three-week run. Directed by Adam McKay and produced by Judd Apatow, the film stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two spoiled men who become competitive stepbrothers after their single parents decide to get married.
Universal’s “Mamma Mia!” slipped to No. 6 this weekend, pulling in $8 million and reaching a cumulative gross of $104 million. The Phyllida Lloyd-directed big-screen version of the famous Broadway musical stars Amanda Seyfried as a bride-to-be who tries to figure out the identity of her real father.
Following in seventh place was Eric Brevig’s 3-D adventure “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” which after this weekend’s earnings of $4.8 million brought its domestic total to $81.7 million after five weeks in release. At No. 8, Sony’s “Hancock” took home $3.3 million to reach a cumulative gross of $221.7 million.
Two films rounded out the top 10 this weekend: Disney’s “Swing Vote” earned $3.1 million in ninth place for a total of $12 million, while Pixar’s “WALL-E” finished tenth with a weekend gross of $3 million and a seven-week total of $210.1 million.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)
Reader Comments (2)
You're kidding right? Why do I keep seeing articles like this?
It's obvious this would have happened. A two year old could have seen that coming a mile away. This isn't news. This is an insult to the people who posted it and the people who read it. You should be ashamed at yourselves for pushing this as "news".
Pineapple Express was good, but The Dark Knight was cinematic perfection.
KouriRyu, I am glad you can foresee the future so well. Sure, many people expected The Dark Knight to top the box office, but if you see every result coming, please send me your list every week. We can break grounds with your ability to predict news.
And by the way, maybe you should stop insulting yourself and not read this in the first place.