The Dark Knight slipped only 36% and finished second (after four weekends at the top) with an estimated total of $16.8 million. The new Batman film earned some $42 million overseas where it has now grossed $328.6 million, and its worldwide total, currently over $800 million, makes it the number one global film of the year as it eased past Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which has brought in $780 million across the globe.
Domestically The Dark Knight’s cumulative is now $471.1 million making it number two all-time behind only Titanic, but if the total is adjusted for inflation The Dark Knight now ranks number six. In terms of the number of tickets sold the new Batman film has now passed 66 million, putting it ahead of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (65 million), but still behind the original 2002 Spider-Man film (69 million).
The “force” definitely wasn’t with the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was never designed to be a big blockbuster, but still came in several notches below expectations. Brutal reviews (only 18% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) certainly hurt and the B- CinemaScore rating from those who attended doesn’t appear to portend good things, but the theatrical showings and promotions (including a major happy meal event at McDonalds that will last until mid-September) certainly should provide a solid kick-off for the Clone Wars TV series on the Cartoon Network.
The number four film this week was Mirrors, a remake of a 2003 Korean horror film, Into the Mirror, directed by Kim Sung-ho. Mirrors starred Kiefer Sutherland and the R-rated horror film actually performed quite well in a summer that has not been very kind to the genre.
Outside the top ten, Pixar’s Wall-e raised its cumulative to $214.1 million making it the number one animated release of the year (a title it is unlikely to relinquish), and Universal’s Wanted, which is based on the Top Cow comic series by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones, has nearly matched Marvel Studio’s The Incredible Hulk.
