Daily Box Office Analysis for August 26, 2008
By David Mumpower
August 27, 2008
Tropic Thunder finished up its second week in release by finishing in first place again with $1,790,558. The title also has been the top earner on 13 of its 14 days, leading to a grand total of $69,568,069. For comparison, Pineapple Express was at $65,880,810, Step Brothers was at $72,003,474, Superbad was at $76,834,795, and Knocked Up was at $75,946,815. I'm starting to think that Tropic Thunder will creep its way over $100 million, a feat I would not have expected at this time last week.
Finishing in second place is The House Bunny, which has averaged this result over the past five days by starting in first, dropping to second, having a hiccup on Sunday in third then climbing back up to second the past two days. $1,353,668 yesterday represents almost exactly a 10% drop, giving the Anna Faris comedy a five-day total of $17,391,264. This gives it a slight edge over the other "big" opener last weekend, Death Race, which has averaged a third place finish during its time in release. It started in third, fell to fourth, oddly jumped back up to second, then settled upon third again the past two days. $1,177,380 is a 7% fall from Monday's $1,266,000, giving it a running total of $15,064,470. That's how boring box office results are this week. The only excitement is whether Death Race or The House Bunny will fluctuate one spot from the day before.
In order to keep you reading, now is the time where we talk about The Dark Knight. With another fourth place finish yesterday, the title still holds the remarkable distinction of finishing in the top four on each of its first 40 days in release. For comparison, Iron Man stayed in the top four for 35 consecutive days while Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull did so for only 22 days. Spider-Man and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest also managed this feat for 35 days each. Those of you who read Daron Aldridge's exceptional Titanic columns, however, are already aware that it was number one (!) for 77 consecutive days and did not fall out of the top 4 until its 115th day in release. Its domestic run was...impressive.
The Dark Knight's running total of $491,702,478 puts it 81.8% of the way to Titanic after 40 days. Titanic did not get to The Dark Knight's current domestic box office take until its 94th day in release. The change in box office behavior over the last ten years is several steps beyond remarkable.
Outside of these four films, the biggest story in the top ten continues to be Mamma Mia! People love ABBA a lot more than I would have thought, as the movie earned another $709,430 yesterday. This is an increase of 6.5%, the second largest in the top ten. It passed the $125 million mark yesterday and has a running total of $125,845,380. I had considered High School Musical 3 to be a foregone conclusion to be the top selling movie musical of 2008, but Mamma Mia! has certainly made things interesting. It is not going to reach Chicago's $170,687,518, but the fact that it's already surpassed Hairspray and is heading in that direction is exemplary. It is about to pass Get Smart to become the 12th highest grossing release of 2008 and is almost certain to jump Wanted, The Incredible Hulk, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian to become the eighth most successful summer release. Be honest. Wouldn't you have taken bets against that two months ago?
Box office for the top ten had combined receipts of $8,595,039. Those numbers are so small they belong on an abacus rather than a calculator or computer.
| 1 |
Tropic Thunder |
DreamWorks |
$1,790,558 |
- 5.6% |
- 45.0% |
$69,528,069 |
| 2 |
The House Bunny |
Columbia Pictures (Sony) |
$1,353,668 |
- 10.0% |
N/A |
$17,391,264 |
| 3 |
Death Race |
Universal Pictures |
$1,177,380 |
- 7.0% |
N/A |
$15,064,470 |
| 4 |
The Dark Knight |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
$1,102,337 |
- 6.8% |
- 48.7% |
$491,702,478 |
| 5 |
The Pineapple Express |
Sony/Columbia |
$714,780 |
- 6.6% |
- 54.8% |
$75,260,124 |
| 6 |
Mamma Mia! |
Universal |
$709,430 |
+ 6.5% |
- 38.2% |
$125,845,380 |
| 7 |
Mirrors |
Twentieth Century Fox |
$513,895 |
- 2.7% |
- 54.5% |
$21,252,896 |
| 8 |
Star Wars: The Clone Wars |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
$503,403 |
- 12.8% |
- 62.4% |
$26,079,598 |
| 9 |
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
$378,398 |
+ 0.3% |
- 62.4% |
$39,074,669 |
| 10 |
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor |
Universal |
$351,190 |
- 3.3% |
- 64.6% |
$94,635,735 |
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Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
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