DISNEY - BATMAN IS ROBIN' THE BOX OFFICE

Although some industry analysts had contended that Warner Bros. had inflated its estimate of what The Dark Knight took in on Sunday so that it could claim a record weekend, the final box office result showed that the studio's estimate was actually conservative. The film grossed $158.3 million, some $3 million more than the studio's forecast, according to the final figures from box-office trackers Media by Numbers. Perhaps most impressive of all was the per-theater gross at IMAX venues -- an average of more than $67,000 each. (And that doesn't count profits from IMAX tickets that were scalped on eBay for upwards of $50 apiece.) At the same time, Mamma Mia, starring Meryl Street set a box-office record for the best domestic opening for a musical as it grossed $27.7 million, edging out the previous record holder, Hair Spray, which took in $27.5 million last year.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. The Dark Knight, Warner Bros., $158,411,483, (New); 2. Mamma Mia!, Universal, $27,751,240, (New); 3. Hancock, Sony, $14,040,178, 3 Wks. ($191,543,979); 4. Journey to the Center of the Earth , Warner Bros., $12,340,435, 2 Wks. ($43,504,712); 5. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Universal, $10,117,815, 2 Wks. ($56,526,885); 6. WALL-E, Disney, $10,070,396, 4 Wks. ($182,732,709); 7. Space Chimps , Fox, $7,181,374, (New); 8. Wanted, Universal, $5,072,805, 4 Wks. ($123,322,635); 9. Get Smart , Warner Bros., $4,125,021, 5 Wks. ($119,608,695); 10. Kung Fu Panda , Paramount, $1,860,854, 7 Wks. ($206,616,381).

22/07/2008