Bangkok Dangerous Tops Weak Box Office

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office. 

Lionsgate's action-thriller Bangkok Dangerous, starring Nicolas Cage, only needed $7.8 million to top the weakest box office weekend in seven years. Based on the Pang brothers' Hong Kong film of the same name, the movie averaged just $2,943 in 2,650 theaters. It cost about $45 million to make. The last time a box office champ opened lower was when David Spade's Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star earned $6.7 million during the weekend of Sept. 5-7, 2003. Overall, Bangkok Dangerous' figure is the 9th lowest grossing No. 1 of all time at North American theaters. 

After three weekends at the top, DreamWorks' hit Tropic Thunder added $7.5 million in its fourth weekend in second place to reach a total of $96.8 million. The Ben Stiller comedy, co-starring Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr., was made for $92 million. 

Sony comedy The House Bunny climbed a spot from fourth to third and earned $5.9 million its third weekend. The Anna Faris comedy was made for just $25 million and has earned a total of $36.99 million so far. 

In fourth, Warner Bros. juggernaut The Dark Knight collected another $5.7 million to push its eight-week total to a massive $512.2 million, trailing only Titanic's $600.8 million on the all-time domestic blockbuster chart. Internationally, the Christopher Nolan-directed film added $11.8 million to lift its foreign total to $437.2 million. The worldwide gross has hit $949.4 million, good for 7th place on the all-time worldwide blockbuster list. 

Overture Films' Traitor, starring Don Cheadle, remained in the fifth spot with another $4.7 million and a total of $17.7 million after two weeks. The thriller was produced for $22 million. 

Also, 20th Century Fox's Babylon A.D. tumbled the most of the top 12, dropping four spots to sixth place. The Vin Diesel-starrer earned $4 million its second weekend for a total of $17.2 million compared to its budget of $70 million.

The total weekend box office gross reached just $66 million, the lowest figure since the $59.5 million reported for the weekend of Sept. 21, 2001.