Weekend Box Office: Total Recall, Wimpy Kid No Match for Dark Knight

By Chris Kavan - 08/06/12 at 10:12 AM CT

Once again it was The Dark Knight Rises who prevailed against two new films (and crossed the $350 million mark) in another quiet weekend battle.

The Dark Knight Rises took in $36.4 million to raise its total to $354.6 million after three weeks. While it held up better in its third week compared to The Dark Knight (a 41% drop compared to a 43% drop) the film is still running about $39 million behind its predecessor. Still, it's the third-fastest film to cross the $350 million mark (behind The Avengers and The Dark Knight). I don't think anyone can doubt that this film is still a certified hit and a great way for Christopher Nolan to end his trilogy.

Coming in second was the remake/reboot Total Recall. Yet the $26 million it brought in has to be considered a bit of letdown compared to its $125 million budget. Colin Ferrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel apparently just didn't quite connect with the action/sci-fi crowd, and those who did show up awarded the film a damning C+ score. Total Recall looks to follow in the footsteps of another disappointing action/sci-fi romp, Battleship, and should wind up in the $50-$60 million range once its finished.

Coming in third was Diary of Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. Another trilogy, Dog Days took in $14.7 million, which was down significantly from the original Wimpy Kid ($22.1 million) and the sequel Rodrick Rules ($23.8 million). Luckily the film has a budget of just $22 million and the mostly female (58%) younger (62% under 25) audience gave it a solid A-, so it should wind up in positive territory and could lead to more Wimpy Kid movies in the future.

After four weeks, Ice Age: Continental Drift dropped to fourth place with $8.4 million (down 37%) for a $131.8 million total. While that number still looks pretty good, this will wind up being the lowest-grossing film in this series.

The Watch took a bit 50% hit after its lackluster opening, dropping to fifth place with $6.35 million. So far the film has earned just $25.3 million and looks to compete with Adam Sandler's That's My Boy ($36.9 million) for most disappointing comedy of the year.

Outside the top five, two films celebrated significant milestones: Ted proved that raunchy R-rated comedies are alive and well by crossing the $200 million mark. Down a week-to-week best 25.5%, the film wound up in sixth place with $5.79 million and now stands at $203.4 million. It has a chance of being Universal's highest-grossing film of the year should it be able to pass The Lorax at $214 million.

The Amazing Spider-Man bucked the reboot trend by turning in some pretty amazing numbers. In 8th place with $4.3 million, it crossed the $250 million mark and ended up at $250.6 million overall. It's already made back its $230 million budget, and with foreign totals factored in, it looks like Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone will be doing a lot more web-slinging in the future.

Next week three films will try to revive the lackluster box office from the past two weeks. A Matt Damon-less Bourne Legacy (with Jeremy Renner taking the reigns) looks to excite the action crowd. Meanwhile Will Ferrell channels his best GWB impersonation as he faces off against Zach Galifianakis in another R-rated comedy, The Campaign. And Finally Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep and Steve Carell look to capture the same audience that bolstered The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with Hope Springs.