With underwhelming opening numbers from "Total Recall," "The Dark Knight Rises" was able to easily remain the top box office draw for the third consecutive weekend. "The Dark Knight Rises" brought in a solid $36 million, ousting the $26 million that "Total Recall" managed for distributor Sony/Columbia. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" also had disappointing opening numbers, finishing well below the first two entries in the Fox franchise with an opening of only $14.7 million.
Thanks to a production budget of $125 million and a successful 1990 original, "Total Recall" had some big expectations as it launched over the weekend. But even with somewhat of a built-in audience, "Total Recall" managed only $7,220 per venue, which was nowhere near good enough to surpass "The Dark Knight Rises." "Total Recall" ended up posting a similar opening as "Battleship," which went down as one of the biggest domestic busts of the year with just $65 million in U.S. revenue.
The release schedule also won't get any easier for "Total Recall," as it will have to face some stiff competition for audiences in the coming weeks. Spin-off "The Bourne Legacy" looks to be in a much better position to find its intended action-seeking audience, which should severely limit the numbers for "Total Recall" as we move deeper into August. While the Arnold Schwarzenegger original brought in more than $100 million in the U.S. (roughly $226 million adjusted for inflation), "Total Recall" will be lucky to bring in $70 million domestically before it's out of theaters.
Also struggling to find its audience was "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days," a PG family film based on a popular book series. Though the first two films in the series both earned more than $20 million over their opening weekends, "Dog Days" managed only $14.7 million on a per theater average of less than $4,400. With such weak opening numbers, it's hard to imagine "Dog Days" doing much box office damage over the next few weekends and it should slide out of the top ten fairly soon.
But while the new releases hard a home time meeting expectations, "The Dark Knight Rises" continued its torrid pace and posted yet another impressive weekend. Dipping only 41% from the previous weekend's numbers, "The Dark Knight Rises" pushed its domestic total to $354 million after 17 days in theaters. Though "The Dark Knight Rises" is slightly below the pace of "The Dark Knight," it still looks like a safe bet to come close to $500 million in U.S. revenue by the time it's finished in theaters.
"The Dark Knight Rises" is also starting to catch on overseas, with big numbers coming in from all over the world. After hitting many of its biggest foreign markets, "The Dark Knight Rises" is now past $700 million in worldwide revenue, putting it on pace to cross $1 billion just as "The Dark Knight" did. "The Dark Knight Rises" will likely relinquish its top box office slot this upcoming weekend to "The Bourne Legacy," though it will remain a factor for the rest of the month.
With a slew of titles hitting theaters next weekend, it will likely be the last time that "Brave" and "Magic Mike" land in the top ten after very strong box office runs so far. Though "Brave" won't come close to topping some of Pixar/Disney's biggest earners, like "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story 3," "Brave" is still up to $223 million in the U.S. After delayed releases for many countries outside of the U.S., foreign totals are also starting to come in and look good in the early going.
Meanwhile, "Magic Mike" has been one of the biggest surprises of the year, with six trips to the top ten despite a $7 million production budget and a fairly minimal marketing campaign. "Magic Mike" is now up to $110 million in the U.S., making it by far the least expensive 2012 release to cross the $100 million plateau.
Next week, series spin-off/reboot "The Bourne Legacy" will hit theaters looking to pick up where the Matt Damon franchise left off, with Jeremy Renner taking over for Damon. Also getting launched will be Will Ferrell's latest comedy "The Campaign," which will team him with Zach Galifianakis for a timely spoof of American politics. Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones will also star in "Hope Springs," a romantic comedy that has been getting mostly rave reviews heading into its Wednesday release.
Early Studio Box Office Estimates for 8/3/12 - 8/5/12 (In Millions): [RTT Prediction]:
1. The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Brother): $36.44 [$30]
2. Total Recall (Sony/Columbia): $26 [$28]
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (Fox): $14.70 [$22]
4. Ice Age: Continental Drift (Fox): $8.40 [$7.5]
5. The Watch (Fox): $6.35 [$6.5]
6. Step Up Revolution (Summit): $5.30 [$5.5]
7. Ted (Universal): $5.48 [$5]
8. The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony/Columbia): $4.30 [$3.9]
9. Brave (Disney): $2.89 [$2.7]
10. Magic Mike (Warner Brothers): $1.38 [$1.4]
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.