STAR WARS - CAN KNIGHT BEAT TITANIC?

The Dark Knight has come within striking distance of displacing the original Star Wars as the second-highest-grossing movie of all time. Final weekend figures released by Media by Numbers on Monday indicated that the latest Batman sequel grossed $26.1 million over the weekend to keep it at No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week. It has now grossed $441.32 million, or about $20 million short of Star Wars ' achievement. However, it's far behind the George Lucas classic when inflation is taken into account. If tickets in 1977, when Star Wars came out, had cost what they do today, the movie would have earned $1.23 billion -- an amount The Dark Knight has no chance of equaling. (When adjusted for inflation the top film of all time is Gone With the Wind , which would have made $1.26 billion in today's dollars.) Analysts also suggest that it has no chance of equaling the $600 million (unadjusted for inflation) that Titanic took in a decade ago. Indeed Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman conceded as much in an interview appearing in today's (Tuesday) Hollywood Reporter. " Titanic was once in a lifetime, and I don't think we'll ever have another gross like that in the history of the industry," Fellman said.

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., $26,117,030, 4 Wks. ($441,628,497); 2. Pineapple Express, Sony, $23,245,025, 1 Wks. ($41,318,736 (From Wednesday); 3. The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Universal, $16,490,970, 2 Wks. ($71048920); 4. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, Warner Bros., $10,678,430, 1 Wks. ($19,620,128 (From Wednesday); 5. Step Brothers, Sony, $9,128,662, 3 Wks. ($81132136); 6. Mamma Mia!, Universal, $8,208,580, 4 Wks. ($104,144,505); 7. Journey to the Center of the Earth, Warner Bros., $4,871,478, 5 Wks. ($81,775,323); 8. Hancock, Sony, $3,317,450, 5 Wks. ($221,726,791); 9. WALL-E , Disney, $3140083, 7 Wks. ($210,206,582); 10. Swing Vote, Disney, $3,125,290, 2 Wks. ($12,020,828).

12/08/2008