Box Office: Mirrors, Clones and Tropic Thunder

It's starting to look like the only way we're going to get the bats out of the top five is to call an exterminator. Chalk up another $26 million for billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and his war on crime as The Dark Knight hangs on to first place for a fourth week in a row. Seth Rogen's stoner comedy came in respectably at second, taking in only $3 million less than the Batman Begins sequel. Here's the break down:

1. The Dark Knight: $26.1 million
2. Pineapple Express: $23.2 million
3. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: $16.4 million
4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: $10.6 million
5 Step Brothers: $9.1 million

We've got four new releases this week:

Mirrors
What's It All About: Directed by Alexandre Aja of High Tension fame, Mirrors stars Kiefer Sutherland as an ex-cop turned security guard who discovers something evil in the mirrors of an old museum. This scare flick is a remake of a Korean movie.
Why It Might Do Well: Who doesn't like a good scare, and Sutherland is a strong lead who is familiar to millions thanks to his work on 24.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The momentum for Asian horror remakes must be slowing by now, although every time I say that a new one pops up.
Number of Theaters: 2,600
Prediction: $12.5 million



Star Wars: The Clone Wars
What's It All About: All new animated adventure of Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker set between the events of the Star Wars films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. This feature serves as a lead in for an upcoming TV series.
Why It Might Do Well: Despite what some think of the prequels, slapping a Star Wars logo on anything can be like having a license to print money.
Why It Might Not Do Well: A 57% rating at Rottentomatoes.com implies that the force may not be strong with this one, and personally I've had enough of the whole saga.
Number of Theaters: 3,300
Prediction: $26 million

Tropic Thunder
What's It All About: Ben Stiller directs and stars in this comedy about the making of the ultimate Vietnam war film.
Why It Might Do Well: The trailers have looked awesome and the film is getting an 81% fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. I think we finally have a film that can knock the bat out of his belfry.
Why It Might Not Do Well: As Peter Martin posted the other day, representatives of Special Olympics plan to picket the film. On the other hand, that will probably just draw more attention to the movie.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $35 million

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
What's It All About: This latest film from Woody Allen details the adventures of two young women visiting Barcelona.
Why It Might Do Well: An 87% fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com certainly grabs my attention.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The small release means this won't be a contender for the top five, and on a strictly personal note it's been a long time since Woody made a film I liked.
Number of Theaters: 700
Prediction: $5.5 million

Here's how I think next week's top five will look:
1. Tropic Thunder
2. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
3. The Dark Knight
4. Pineapple Express
5. Mirrors

The Dark Knight's stay at number one threw a few people, but we had a handful of perfect scores. Thanks to everyone for joining in. Here are the results:
1. Gregory Rubinstein: 16
1. Bradford Oman: 16
1. Matt: 16
1. Ray: 16
1. Chris: 16
2. VP: 12
2. I Eat Robots: 12
2. LostinaFog: 12
2. victor de la torre: 12
2. greatone: 12
2. Smiggy: 12
3. Q: 10
4. Alex Farquharson 9
4. Eric: 9
5. AJ Wiley: 7
5. Romel: 7
5. airtoast: 7
6. Christian M. Howell: 4
6. Vera: 4
6. E-Rock: 4

Post your predictions for the top five movies in the comments section below before 5:00PM Eastern Time on Friday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.