Last week’s No. 1, The Dark Knight, fell to the third spot with just under $3 million in ticket sales in its 10th week in release.

Genre films set to debut next week: Blindness, a dystopian thriller starring Mark Ruffalo, Julianne More, Gael Garcia Bernal, Danny Glover and Sandra Oh opens in limited release – with a wider release expected over the next few weeks. 

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of September 19-21, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

1. (4) Igor – $8.0 million | $8.0 million [$30 million]
2. (8) Ghost Town – $5.2 million | $5.2 million [$20 million]
3. (9) The Dark Knight – $3.0 million | $522million [$185 million]
4. (13) Death Race – $1.0 million | $35.0 million [$45 million]
5. (17) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $0.8 million | $99.1 million [$60 million]
6. (18) Babylon A.D. – $0.74 million | $21.7 million [$70 million]
7. (19) Fly Me to the Moon – $0.73 million | $11.0 million [$25 million]
8. (22) Mirrors – $0.47 million | $29.9 million [budget unreported]
9. (23) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – $0.40 million | $102.2 million [$145 million]
10. (24) Star Wars: The Clone Wars – $0.36 million | $34.4 million [budget unreported]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

No new science fiction, fantasy, horror or spy-fi films have opened over the past two weekends as mainstream comedies dominated at North American movie theatres.

To date, Dark Knight  has brought in more than $517 million in ticket sales in in the U.S. and Canada, with a total of its second weekend – more than $966 million worldwide. According to Warner Brothers – expect the film to be pulled from theatres in the next week wees, only to be re-released in January 2009 during the Oscar season. The studio is hoping for both Academy Awards and to break the billion-dollar mark in ticket sales.

Genre films set to debut next week: Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni and the animated family fantasy, Igor starring the voices of John Cusack, John Cleese, Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard, Jennifer Coolidge, Jay Leno, Molly Shannon and Christian Slater.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of September 12-14, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

1. (7) The Dark Knight – $4.0 million | $517.7 million [$185 million]
2. (10) Death Race – $2.0 million | $33.2 million [$45 million]
3. (11) Babylon A.D. – $1.8 million | $20.3 million [$70 million]
4. (14) Fly Me to the Moon – $1.3 million | $9.9 million [$25 million]
5. (16) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $1.1 million | $98.0 million [$60 million]
6. (18) Mirrors – $0.90 million | $29.1 million [budget unknown]
7. (19) Star Wars: The Clone Wars – $0.82 million | $33.9 million [$budget unknown]
8. (20) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon King – $0.60 million | $101.5 million [$145 million]
9. (22) WALL-E – $0.5 million | $220.1 million [$180 million]
10. (33) Hellboy II: The Golden Army – $0.10 million | $75.8 million [$85 million]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

Lat week’s No. 1 – Death Race – fell to the No. 3 spot among genre films (No. 6 overall) with about $6.3 million in ticket sales.

The No. 2 genre spot was held by Batman flick, The Dark Knight, which passed the half-billion mark in North American sales this past weekend. Racking up $8.6 million in ticket sales for a grand total of $502.3 million in domestic sales, added to the $417 million foreign takem the film reached a total gross of $921.7 million worldwide.

Needless to say, there will be more Batman films in future years.

No genre films are set to debut over the next two weeks.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the 2008 Labor Day weekend.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

1. (2) Babylon A.D. – $9.6 million | $9.6 million [$70 million]
2. (3) The Dark Knight – $8.6 million | $502.3 million [$185 million]
3. (6) Death Race – $6.3 million | $23.1 million [$45 million]
4. (11) Mirrors – $2.74 million | $24.8 million [unreported budget]
5. (12) Star Wars: The Clone Wars – $2.70 million | $29.6 million [unreported budget]
6. (13) The Mummy: Dragon Emperor – $2.6 million | $97.9 million [$145 million]
7. (15) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $1.8 million | $94.6 million [$60 million]
8. (18) Fly Me to the Moon – $1.5 million | $6.3 million [$25 million]
9. (21) Wall-E – $1.1 million } $217.9 million [$180 million]
10. (29) Hellboy 2 – $0.2 million | $75.4 million [$85 million]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

With a total take of just over $12.6 million in 2,532 theatres, the film was No. 3 overall, bested by comedies, Tropic Thunder and The House Bunny. 

Race also  knocked mega-blockbuster Dark Knight to second place among genre films.

The only other sci fi flick to debut this weekend was Cthulhu, a gay-themed independent horror film from Regent Releasing starring Tori Spelling. In limited release, the film brought in $1,438 in one theatre. (That may seem rather dismal, but compare it to the No. 5 film of the week, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which made $1,640 per theatre.

Debuting next week in genre is the Vin Diesel science fiction thriller, Babylon A.D. which will be in wide release in 3,200 theatres in North America.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of August 22-24, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

1. (3) Death Race – $12.6 million | $12.6 million [$45 million]
2. (4) The Dark Knight – $10.5 million | $489.4 million [$185 million]
3. (5) Star Wars: The Clone Wars – $5.7 million | $25.0 million [budget unreported]
4. (7) Mirrors – $5.0 million | $20.2 million [budget unreported]
5. (9) The Mummy: Dragon Emperor -$4.2 million | $93.9 million [$145 million]
6. (15) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $2.2 million | $91.9 million [$60 million]
7. (16) Fly Me to the Moon – $1.4 million | $4.2 million [$25 million]
8. (17) WALL-E – $0.97 million | $216.3 million [$180 million]
9. (19) Hancock – $0.64 million | $226.4 million [$150 million]
10. (20) Kung Fu Panda – $0.58 million | $212.7 million [$130 million]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

OPENS: AUgust 15, 2008
RATING: PG (Violence, Smoking, Adult Situations)
GENRE: Space Opera, Animation

A new Star Wars cartoon will debut on the Cartoon Network this fall.

Somebody at Lucasfilm got the bright idea to make a 90-minute introduction movie to kick the series off. That’s good.

Somebody (or somebodies) else at Warner Brothers in paring up with Lucasfilm got the bright idea of taking that made-for-TV film and dumping it out in theatres this weekend. That’s not-so-good.

The result? A hybrid computer animated film that is not up to par with what a movie-going audience expects when plopping over $8 to $10 a pop to see a film these days.

Among those panning the film, most noted a boring storyline and painful dialogue that insults fans of the Star Wars saga. Others called it a blatant money grab for George Lucas that insults the legacy of the franchise. Others said this film marks the death of Star Wars as a popular culture touchstone.

But others were not do fast to dismiss this film. As a kid’s film its fast pace and not-too-complicated story is perfect mindless last weekend before back-to-school fun for the pre-teen set.

WATCH THE TRAILER

<!– {rw_good}

• Squarely aimed for the middle school audience.
• Good preview of the upcoming TV series.

{/rw_good} –>

<!– {rw_bad}

• Poor writing
• Animation is stiff

{/rw_bad} –>

<!– {rw_score}

{for="Newsday" value="1"}

"A money-making spin-off from the Lucas franchise, "Clone Wars" has all the magic and heart of a cereal commercial." – Rafer Guzman

{/for}

{for=”Space.com” value=”6″}

“If you’re looking for some solid action, that’s one thing this film will give you in spades. Just don’t look too closely at the characters themselves, and you’ll do fine.” – Steve Fritz

{/for}

{for=”New York Times” value=”6″}

“The Clone Warshas an uncluttered look and furious pace that make it more or less as satisfying as its wildly overdesigned predecessors.” – Nathan Lee

{/for}

{for=”Chicago Tribune” value=”1″}

“The film’s purpose is clear. It is a full-length teaser for the forthcoming TV series of the same name.” – Michael Phillips

{/for}

{for=”Chicago Sun-Times” value=”3″}

“You know you’re in trouble when the most interesting new character is Jabba the Hutt’s uncle.” – Roger Ebert

{/for}

{for=”San Francisco Chronicle” value=”6″}

“The movie’s tone will probably send original-trilogy loyalists over the edge, the final shove that sends their Hoth Ice Planet action play sets into exile on eBay. Meanwhile, children will thrill at the notion that the latest part of the saga was made especially for them.” – Peter Hartlaub

{/for}

{for=”Los Angeles Daily News” value=”3″}

“Big disaster, this Star Wars cartoon is… The ugly-looking movie is a straightforward, unapologetic cash grab, taking footage intended to be part of Cartoon Network’s upcoming Clone Wars TV series and slapping it together to lure in those few who haven’t already torn up their fan club membership cards in disgust.” – Glenn Whipp

{/for}

{for=”Washington Post” value=”1″}

“Lucas fulfills his lifelong dream of completely dehumanizing his space opera, replacing it with a digitally animated style that is somewhere between cartoons, Christmas specials and panoramic paintings on the side of a van.” – Hank Stuever

{/for}

{/rw_score} –>

In case you missed it, Star Wars‘ Natalie Portman’s Gansta Rap from last weekend’s Saturday Night Live is available on the Devil Ducky site.

In the video, the actress responded to the question. “What’s a day in the life of the real Natalie Portman like?” with an answer that spoofs celebrity-crazy news magazines such as Entertainment Tonight as well as her braniac Harvard-grad reputation and, most importantly, the “street cred” of modern studio-made rap artists in a mock-interview rap song.

Included are such mock messages to fans as, “All the kids who look up to me can suck my di-*beep*” and “I’ll kill your f-*beep*-in’ dog for fun, so don’t push me.”

The video requires the QuickTime plug in media player.

Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com