The Dark Knight Tops 4th Straight Weekend!

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

Despite two more wide releases having entered theaters on Wednesday, The Dark Knight topped the box office for a fourth straight weekend, adding an estimated $26 million for a massive domestic total of $441.5 million. If the estimate holds, then the Christopher Nolan-directed film has surpassed Shrek 2 ($441.226 million) to climb to the third spot on the all-time domestic blockbuster list, trailing just Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope ($460.998 million) and Titanic ($600.788 million). Warner Bros. Pictures said it expects "Dark Knight" to end up with about $520 million domestically. The movie cost $185 million to make.

Internationally, The Dark Knight added $35.1 million at 7,000 theaters and has pushed its overseas total to $263 million for a worldwide total of $704.5 million.

Columbia Pictures' R-rated comedy Pineapple Express, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, earned an estimated $22.4 million in second place over the weekend and has made $40.5 million in 3,072 theaters since its Wednesday debut. Directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Judd Apatow, the film carried a budget of only $27 million.

Universal Pictures' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor dropped a big 60.2% in ticket sales its second weekend, collecting $16.1 million in third for a total of $70.7 million so far. The Rob Cohen-directed action-adventure was produced for $145 million.
"The Mummy" was again No. 1 internationally, where it earned $56.1 million from 6,453 theaters. Overseas it has collected $141.1 million for a worldwide total of $211.8 million so far.

Warner Bros. sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, starring Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn, took fourth place with $10.8 million this weekend and has earned $19.7 million from 2,707 theaters since opening on Wednesday.

Columbia's Step Brothers rounded out the top five with $8.9 million in its third weekend. The $65 million comedy has reached $80.9 million.

Universal's musical Mamma Mia! continued to do well in the sixth spot, adding another $8 million in its fourth weekend for a total of $104 million compared to its budget of $52 million.

While "The Mummy" suffered a big drop, Brendan Fraser's other summer action-adventure, Journey to the Center of the Earth, dipped just 27.1% in its fifth weekend, making another $4.9 million for a total of $81.8 million. The New Line/Warner Bros. release cost $60 million to make.