Topping the box office for a third-straight weekend, as expected, was The Dark Knight Rises. After dropping 60% last weekend, it did make a nice recovery, easing just 43% to $35.7 million, for a per-theater average of a solid $8,425 from 4,242 theaters. The film has earned an impressive $354.6 million in 17 days. That drop was the same as what the original Dark Knight experienced in its' third weekend, though it had a higher gross ($42.5 million). Its' obvious at this point that word-of-mouth is starting to kick in for the Christopher Nolan finale, but its' too late to catch up with its' predecessor (which is ahead of it by $35 million through the same point), as the Colorado shooting and the London Olympics have taken its' toll on it. Still though, its' looking to end its' run with around $450 million, which is still enough for seventh place on the all-time list and third place on the all-time superhero list.
But it wasn't good news for the new releases. Action remake Total Recall took second place with a stale $25.6 million, for a per-theater average of a fine $7,103 from around 5,600 screens at 3,601 theaters. That opening ranked alongside Battleship and John Carter as one of the worst starts this year for a pricey action flick. On one positive side note, the original Recall opened to $25.5 million in the late 80's (but when you factor in 20 years of price inflation, its' attendance was likely only half of the original). But, it just was unable to justify itself in the face of the Caped Crusader. Starpower was solid, but unspectacular, and critics and audiences didn't exactly like it (24% on Rotten Tomatoes, "C+" CinemaScore). With The Bourne Legacy and The Expendables 2 around the corner, and it wouldn't be surprising if Recall fades from this list fast. I had originally wrote that the film cost a reported $200 million to produce, but distributor Columbia Pictures announced recently that the actual cost was $125 million, and they were expecting close to $30 million.
Opening in third place was threequel/children's book adaptation Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, which opened to a good, but not great $14.6 million, for a per-theater average of a mild $4,312 from around 4,300 screens at 3,391 theaters. While faring better than Total Recall from a financial perspective, that was just two-thirds of what the first two movies earned on their debut weekends (which were in the Spring, so it may be an unfair comparison). That may make it look slightly disappointing, but the budget was just a tidy $22 million, which means it will be another easy money-maker for distributor 20th Century Fox, who had forecasted a debut in the high-teens millions. Plus, despite its' front-loaded opening weekend ($5.9 million Friday VS. $5.1 million Saturday), it did earn an "A-" CinemaScore, which could bode well for its' word-of-mouth. Also, with stronger weekdays expected, it could make up some serious ground in the weeks to come.
In its' fourth weekend, animated fourquel Ice Age: Continental Drift slid to fourth place with a nice hold, down 36% to $8.6 million, for a good, but not great $132.1 million gross in 24 days. The animated fourquel continues to do gangbusters overseas, and with a Labor Day bump expected, the domestic gross now is expected to reach $160 million, in line with last year's Kung Fu Panda 2. In its' second weekend, R-rated disappointment The Watch was down 49% to $6.5 million, for a stale $25.5 million in 10 days. Despite being out for six weeks now, Ted continued to make audiences laugh, with just a Top 10-best 23% slide to $5.6 million, and surpassing the $200 million milestone domestically (its' earned $203.6 million in 38 days).
Showing signs of front-loadedness, Step Up: Revolution was down 55% to seventh place with $5.3 million, for a not-good $23.1 million in 10 days. The final domestic gross may only reach its' $33 million budget. The Amazing Spider-Man continues to level off, with a 34% decrease to $4.4 million, and passing the quarter-billion dollar milestone ($250.7 million in one month of release). Pixar's Brave continued to hold itself together, easing just 31% in its' seventh weekend to $3 million, for a $223.4 million gross in 45 days, and will pass WALL-E's final gross tomorrow. Magic Mike rounded out the Top 10 with a 46% drop to $1.4 million, for a nice $110.9 million gross in 38 days.
Internationally, The Dark Knight Rises held onto the top spot with a 47% drop to $67.2 million in its' third round, for an international tally of close to $380 million and a worldwide tally of $730 million. The $1 billion mark is now looking extremely likely as there are still a few markets left to open. Ice Age: Continental Drift remained in second with another $33 million, bringing its' five-week international tally to over $580 million, and over $715 million worldwide. Looks like the movie has a chance at closing ahead of its' predecessors' $690 million international haul. Ted expanded into 20 more markets, and earned an impressive $32 million, bringing its' international total to $77 million. Brave expanded to 31 markets and earned a solid $16.5 million, for a $118 million international tally in just 56% of foreign markets. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted held onto the fifth spot and expanded into a few more markets, earning another $15.8 million, for a worldwide tally approaching $530 million.
