The Pang Bros. remake of their own film Bangkok Dangerous starring Nicholas Cage took the top spot at the weekend box office with an estimated total of $7.8 million, the smallest gross for a #1 film since David Spade’s forgettable outing, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, which opened on the same Sargasso Sea of a September post-Labor day weekend in 2003.   The total gross for the top ten films was the lowest since that fateful weekend in 2003, the last time that David Spade toplined a weekend box office winner.

While the box office performance of Bangkok Dangerous is the second worst ever opening for a Nicholas Cage action film, it represents a pretty strong debut for the remake of an Asian live action film.  Directed by the brother team of Danny and Oxide (what a wonderfully combustible first name for an action film director) Pang, Bangkok Dangerous, which Lionsgate is distributing (see “Lionsgate Acquires Pang Bros. Film”), nosed out Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder, which was bidding to make it four straight weeks at #1.

Overall the top ten films did not drop off that much (Babylon A.D. was the only movie in the top twenty with more than a 50% decline), it was a lack of potent newcomers that spelled trouble for the box office.  The Dark Knight slipped to fourth, but fell off only 33.7% and brought its domestic total to an astounding $512 million.  Overseas the new Batman film has earned $437.2 million, which brings its worldwide cumulative close to $950 million.  A billion dollar tally doesn’t appear out of the question for this amazing comic book-based film, which now ranks #6 in the list all-time world box office performers.

Speaking of Asian live action films, Takashi Miike’s offbeat take on the western, Sukiyaki Western Django, posted the highest per theater average of the week, $5,100, but since it is playing in just one theater in New York, its performance is nothing to write home about, even on the dismal weekend.