By Franck Tabouring
Weekend of September 5 – 7, 2008

Nicholas Cage’s latest action vehicle “Bangkok Dangerous” topped the North American box office this weekend with $7.8 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Danny and Oxide Pang’s remake ended the three-week reign of DreamWorks’ “Tropic Thunder,” leading an incredibly slow weekend as the only nationwide release. In the film, Cage stars as a lonely hit man who travels to Bangkok and falls in love with a local woman.  

Ben Stiller’s action comedy closely followed at No. 2, earning $7.5 million and reaching a domestic total of $96.8 million after four weeks in release. With Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. in the lead roles, the flick centers on a group of actors as they fight for survival in a dangerous jungle.

Meanwhile, “The House Bunny” climbed back up to No. 3, collecting $5.9 million. Starring Anna Faris as a former Playboy bunny who becomes the housemother of a geeky sorority, the Fred Wolf-directed comedy lifted its cumulative gross to $36.9 million.

At No. 4, Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” picked up another $5.7 million, bringing its total gross to an impressive $512.1 million after a phenomenal eight-week run. Following in fifth was Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s thriller “Traitor,” which reached a cumulative of $17.6 million after thanks to weekend earnings of $4.6 million.

Slipping to No. 6 was Mathieu Kassovitz’s Vin Diesel vehicle “Babylon A.D.,” which took home $4 million. The film, which stars Diesel as a mercenary escorting a young woman from Mongolia to New York, lifted its domestic total to $17.1 million after two weeks in release.

Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Death Race” finished seventh this weekend with $3.5 million, bringing its total gross to $29.7 million. Starring Jason Statham, the film follows a prisoner who’s forced to participate in a deadly car race.

Following closely at No. 8 was “Disaster Movie,” which pulled $3.3 million and reached a cumulative of $10.8 million. Directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the film takes pleasure in spoofing most of this year’s blockbusters.

Two films rounded out the top 10: Universal’s musical “Mamma Mia!” with a weekend gross of $2.7 million and a total of $136.2 million, and Sony’s “Pineapple Express” with a cumulative gross of $84.1 million.  

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