Nicolas Cage in Bangkok Dangerous courtesy Lionsgate
Bangkok Dangerous proved to be anything but at the box office over the weekendThe Nicolas Cage starrer earned top honors but only reeled in a paltry 78 million to lead the slowest fall box office kick-off in years Variety reportsTropic Thunder after three straight weeks at No 1 tumbled to the runner-up spot with 75 million putting it about 3 million shy of the 100 million mark House Bunny Anna Faris laughed her way to third place with 59 millionTotal sales are estimated at 64 million to 66 million making it the worst post-Labor Day weekend since 2003 Should figures hold the outing will fall 17 percent from last years weekend intake which was buoyed by the critically acclaimed and 14 million-opening 310 to Yuma Joyce Eng
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Ben Stiller courtesy Goldcrest Pictures
In a Labor Day weekend that boasted five little-buzzed-about new releases Tropic Thunder managed to hold on to its place at the top of the domestic box office for the third week in a row According to Variety Ben Stillers Hollywood-spoofing comedy earned 115 million dollars bringing its total haul to 838 million Newcomer sci-fi action flick and Vin Diesel starrer Babylon AD came in at No 2 with 98 millionThe Dark Knight bounced back up to No 3 this week taking in another 88 million to pass the 500 million mark the only movie except Titanic to accomplish such a feat The House Bunnys 83 million took fourth and Don Cheadles Traitor rounded out the Top 5 with 79 millionTheater traffic was slow overall despite five new releases Though the final four-day weekend numbers are still forthcoming it seems this summers final outing will fall well short of last years take when Rob Zombies Halloween remake earned 306 million as the top movie Adam Br
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Tropic Thunder courtesy DreamWorks
In a slow box office weekend compared to others in this very lucrative summer movie season Ben Stillers Tropic Thunder managed to hang onto its top slot outhopping The House Bunny and outrunning Death RaceAccording to Variety Thunder edged out both newcomers with a very strong Saturday earning 161 million for the weekend and becoming only the third movie this summer alongside Iron Man and The Dark Knight to hold the top spot for a second week The Anna Faris starrer House Bunny earned 151 million for second place and Universals Death Race remake took third with 123 millionDark Knight brought its overall take to 489 million with fourth-place showing of 103 million and Star Wars The Clone Wars rounded out the Top 5 with a 61 percent drop to 57 million Adam Bryant
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Tropic Thunder by Merie Weismiller Wallace/DreamWorks
Ben Stillers Hollywoodwar-genre satire Tropic Thunder finally unseated The Dark Knight from its perch at the top of the US box office grossing an estimated 26 million over the weekend to take the No 1 spotAccording to Variety the big-budget comedy has pulled in 37 million since its Wednesday release The Dark Knight finished second with 168 million but Christopher Nolans Batman Begins sequel became the second highest grossing flick ever domestically surpassing Star Wars with a new total of 4715 million in only 30 daysSpeaking of Star Wars George Lucas animated The Clone Wars hauled in 155 million to finish third this weekend Rounding out the Top 5 were Kiefer Sutherlands horror starrer Mirrors with 111 million and Pineapple Express which probably suffered the most from rival comedy Thunders opening falling 57 percent from last weeks opening to 10 million Adam Bryant
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Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder courtesy DreamWorks Pictures
Tropic Thunder hasnt hit theaters yet but it already has people up in arms over its edgy contentDisability groups turned out en masse at Thunders Monday night premiere to protest and criticize the films portrayal of mentally disabled individuals the Associated Press reportsStarring Ben Stiller Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr as ignorant actors filming a war movie in the jungle Thunder features numerous scenes of the trio using disparaging terms during discussions of playing mentally disabled charactersWhen I heard about it I felt really hurt inside Special Olympics global messenger Dustin Plunkett said I cannot believe a writer could write something like that Its the not the way that we want to be portrayed We have feelings We dont like the word retard We are peopleAndrew J Imparato president of the American Association of People with Disabilities was more blunt with his assessment of the film calling it tasteless and offensive start to finish
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Robert Downey Jr. by Kevin Mazur/ WireImage.com
Hot off his mega-Iron Man success Robert Downey Jr is in talks to saddle up for his next big role in the Brian Grazer-Ron Howard film Cowboys Aliens Per the Reporter the movie would be a mix of the sci-fi and Western genres for what will likely be a tongue-in-cheek take on the mlange and is set to hit theaters in 2010The role would be Downeys first deal since smashing the box office competition as Iron Man In the meantime while the talks continue for the Cowboys role audiences can get more of the steely hero in Tropic Thunder this August and The Soloist in November Are you pining for more of Downey Jr in blockbuster type of roles or wish hed return to the sensitive fare that was Less Than Zero With any luck his next roles will be a little bit of both Anna DimondRelated Movie News149 Movie Train Will Roll into Comic-Con149 Iron Man vs Speed Racer Start Your Engines149 Marvel Iron Man 2 on the Way
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