Weekend Box Office: "Tropic" thunders

"Tropic Thunder" finally toppled "The Dark Knight" from the box office top spot, the latter weakened only because it has been in theaters five weeks now. "Thunder" has grossed $37 million since opening last Wednesday and made $26 million over the weekend -- good numbers but still not as strong as the similarly R-rated raunchfest "Pineapple Express" did in its similar release earlier this month. Why? Box Office Mojo's handy day-by-day gross breakdown provides the answer. "Express" had a mammoth Wednesday opening of $12 million while "Tropic Thunder" brought in just about half that first-day amount ($6.5 million), and it had a weaker Thursday as well. But a stronger weekend day by day take, if the estimates hold up.

Still, why? I'm not sure. Maybe there was a stronger have-to-see among Judd Apatow fans that kicked "Pineapple Express" up that extra first-day notch. Quite possibly everyone was watching swimming and gymnastics on TV this past Wednesday. The buzz surrounding Robert Downey Jr and Tom Cruise in "Thunder" has been high, though, and stronger reviews for "Thunder" compared to "Express" means it may have longer legs.

"Dark Knight" passed "Star Wars" to become the second highest grossing movie of all time at $471 million, unadjusted for inflation. (That chart is right here, and "TDK" is #39 and climbing.) "Titanic"? Don't look back, "The Dark Knight" has only $129,295,188 to go.

Speaking of all things Ewok, the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" performed either mildly or strongly depending on whether you think $15.5 million was A) low for a franchise with a passionate global following or B) high for a cynical product placement for an upcoming TV series based on a science-fiction property its creator has beaten into the ground until hardly anyone cares anymore. The die-hards all came out this weekend; expect ticket sales for "Clone Wars" to dive off a cliff next week.

Horror movie "Mirrors" performed softly, which is fine, since it's really bad. "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" opened in almost 700 theaters, the widest debut for a Woody Allen movie since he was working for Dreamworks at the turn of the millennium. It did nicely, too: $3.7 million with a healthy $5,300 per-theater-average; good reviews and a sexy poster that barely mentions the Woodman doubtless helped. Compare this to the indie sorta-spiritual fable "Henry Poole Is Here," starring Luke Wilson: 527 theaters, a limp $1,500 PTA, and a $800,000 opening week gross. "Henry Poole" wasn't here.

More numbers from Box Office Mojo and Movie City News' Leonard Klady.