Weekend Box-Office: July 27-29, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises again!

After the Colorado tragedy on its opening weekend, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES more recently had to contend with filmmaker Danny Boyle’s Olympics spectacle and the start of the games. But our favorite nocturnal crimefighter did indeed rise to the challenge, taking the #1 spot for the second weekend with another $64 million.

Although that’s a 60% drop from its massive debut, the trilogy-closer has already made $289M domestically, putting it at #3 on the list for 10-day total behind THE DARK KNIGHT ($313.7M) and THE AVENGERS ($373M). And the worldwide total has also already crossed the half-billion mark.

Even without Heath Ledger’s exalted turn as the Joker, repeat business should keep THE DARK KNIGHT RISES strong on the chart well into the summer… but Batman might start to stumble from #1 soon. THE DARK KNIGHT ruled the top spot for four weeks back in 2008 (ultimately bumped from #1 by TROPIC THUNDER), but THE DARK KNIGHT RISES faces a pair of high-profile releases in the next two weeks: the megabudget TOTAL RECALL remake and the Damonless sequel THE BOURNE LEGACY.

A pair of new releases were locked out of the #2 spot by ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT in its third weekend with $13.3 million as it lumbers past the $100M mark (plus another $511M overseas). Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn were surely hoping for some of that DODGEBALL magic when they reteamed for THE WATCH, but what they got instead was a chilly reception and derisive reviews. Their new R-rated alien invasion comedy (retitled from NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH after the Trayvon Martin controversy in Florida) rousted only $13 million, just a few steps ahead of the comparatively star-free STEP UP REVOLUTION‘s $11.3M opening.

Things get progressively bleak after that. Seth MacFarlane’s naughty bear is holding up better than the return of the Marvel’s webslinger as TED (now in its fifth week) watches THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN slide on by (although the wall-crawler does have a $654M global total to boast). Channing Tatum’s MAGIC MIKE is one of the summer’s big winners, at least as far as return-on-investment — the stripper tale has made $107.5 million on an estimated $7M budget.

Wes Anderson’s MOONRISE KINGDOM still clings to the list after two-and-a-half months in release (and on fewer than 1,000 screens). Outside the chart, the acclaimed BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is picking up more and more attention despite being in just a couple hundred theaters. And the romcom RUBY SPARKS, the McConaughey-starring NC-17 KILLER JOE and the musician documentary SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN all posted high per-screen averages on just a tiny handful of screens.

Next weekend, Colin Farrell puts on his Arnie pants (but doesn’t get his ass to Mars) in the new version of TOTAL RECALL, and the wimpy kid returns for DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS. What August release are you most looking forward to seeing? VOTE HERE!