After four weekends at the top of the box office, The Dark Knight is likely to be pushed to second place as DreamWorks/Paramount’s comedy Tropic Thunder opens at 3,319 theaters on Wednesday and has a good shot at staying in first through the weekend.
Variety says the studio is looking for the Hollywood sendup, which stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), to at least match the overall five-day take of last week’s Pineapple Express at $41.3 million.
Because its audiences skew older, Tropic Thunder is very unlikely to match “Pineapple’s” record-breaking $12.1 million debut last Wednesday. DreamWorks is looking for an opening day in the mid- to high single digits.
However, the film should far exceed the $23.3 million opening weekend take for Pineapple Express. Now that Warner Bros.’ The Dark Knight is seeing its weekend grosses fall into the teens, “Thunder” will likely be No. 1 for the Friday-to-Sunday frame, with the only potential competition coming from Warner Bros.’ Star Wars: The Clone Wars, hitting theaters Friday.
Source: Variety
