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The Dark Knight beats Mummy 3 to remain top of US box office

The Dark Knight

Story by Jack Foley

BATMAN continues to rule at the US box office, holding onto the top spot for the third week in succession despite strong opposition from new Mummy film, Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor.

Christopher Nolan’s critically-adored movie took at estimated $43.8 million in its third week of release, just ahead of The Mummy‘s respectable $42.5 million.

It means that The Dark Knight has now grossed an estimated $395 million domestically since release and is poised to pass the $400 million mark on Monday (August 4, 2008).

However, while Batman looks set to become the box office champion of 2008 and one of the highest grossing films of all time, industry insiders reckon it’s unlikely to surpass the all-time record holder, James Cameron’s Titanic, which hit $600 million.

That’s not taking anything away from The Dark Knight‘s achievement, though, as Titanic made its money in a much less crowded market-place, when it was able to hold on to the top spot for 15 consecutive weeks.

Batman’s three in a row is impressive given that it has opened in the middle of a crowded summer season, with contenders such as The X-Files: I Want To Believe, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Mamma Mia! The Musical all vying for top spot as well.

Elsewhere at the US box office

The Mummy‘s $42.5 million, while strong, was deemed to be below industry predictions, especially in light of the casting of martial arts legends Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in the latest adventure.

However, it did do very well overseas, pulling in $60 million en route to a worldwide gross of $400 million, according to distributor Universal Pictures.

The figures mean that lead actor Brendan Fraser has enjoyed two sizeable hits this summer, with Mummy and Journey to the Centrt of the Earth 3D taking more than $20 million in their opening weekends and perform solidly.

Another star enjoying a resurgence in fortunes is comedian Will Ferrell, whose latest Step Brothers, only dropped 47% in its second week take and held firm at No. 3 with another healthy $16.3 million.

Step Brothers has now taken an estimated $63 million – $20 million more than Ferrell’s last comedy, Semi-Pro, made in its entire worldwide run.

Mamma Mia! also continued to perform strongly, pulling in an estimated $13.1 million ($80 million so far) and leading insiders to predict it will easily make $120 million in total domestically.

However, last week’s box office loser, The X-Files: I Want To Believe, continued to perform badly (undeservedly so!) falling to ninth place in the US top 10 with only $3.4 million. It means the long-awaited sequel of sorts has only taken $17 million so far – but only cost $29 million to make.

And Kevin Costner will also be licking his wounds as his latest movie, the partly self-financed Swing Vote, took only $6.3 million for a sixth-place debut.