FILM: Box Office Results - 8/15/08

Despite naysayers, Tropic Thunder shoved The Dark Knight out of the #1 spot with $37 mil. Like I said yesterday, I enjoyed a double feature of the uproariously funny industry spoof and Pineapple Express. What surprised me the most about the film were the amount of cast members that were barely mentioned during promotions for the film. While I didn't expect them to mention the cameos by Christine Taylor (Ben's wife), Martin Lawrence, Maria Menuonos, Tyra Banks, or Lance Bass, I did think that they would at least mention that Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up), who played a young up-and-comer, Bill Hader (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), who played Tom Cruise's assistant, and Matthew McConaughey, who played Ben's doting manager were in it. By far the best bit-parts were performed by Tom Cruise, who busted a move to Flo Rida's "Low" and Ludacris' "Get Back" with surprisingly rhythmic hip-hop dance moves, and two of the young Asian actors--Brandon Soo Hoo, who could give Jet Li a run for his money, and the most adorable little psychotic toddler (played by twins J. Thomas and Jacob Chon) who could melt you with his pout.

The Dark Knight steadied itself at #2, reaching $471 mil domestically after 5 weeks. Despite the fact that Star Wars: The Clone Wars wasn't written or directed by George Lucas and it was animated, it managed to come in at #3 with $15.5 mil. The horror flick Mirrors snagged the #4 spot with $11 mil, pushing Pineapple Express, a movie that made me laugh so hard I almost puked on an empty stomach, to #5 with $63 mil.

After three weeks, moviegoers came to their senses and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor plummeted three spots to #6, but not before grossing $87 mil. It doesn't seem like it'll retire within the high nine figures like its two previous films. Mamma Mia!, on the other hand, is up to $116 mil at #7. Its only other female counterpart in the box office, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, however, hasn't faired as well. In its second week, it's dropped four spots to #8 and is likely to retire with perhaps a little more than its present $32 mil gross. But this is actually a coup for the Sisterhood, since its first installment debuted with $9 mil in its first week and retired with $39 mil. Shoved out by their fellow comedians, Step Brothers comes close to taking its leave after a month, positioned at #9 with $91 mil. The indies Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Henry Poole is Here, and Fly Me to the Moon did not make huge splashes due to their small releases. But Woody Allen's romantic dramedy, which grossed $3.7 mil, did receive rave reviews, while Luke Wilson's dramedy, which grossed a measly $800,000, was harshly skewered. And Moon failed to intrigue kids everywhere, despite slim pickings, and it only grossed $2 mil.

Retired this week from the top 10 are: Journey to the Center of the Earth ($100 mil), Wall-E ($248 mil), Hancock ($557 mil), and Swing Vote ($15 mil).

Next week, we've got the teen comedies The Rocker and The House Bunny, the action flick Death Race, the indie comedy Hamlet 2, and the inspirational sports drama The Longshots.