‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ Dethrones ‘The Dark Knight’

On the one side we have The Dark Knight, the latest entry in the Batman franchise. On the other we have The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the latest movie of The Mummy series. When The Mummy’s release date was originally set for two weeks after The Dark Knight, few would have believed we’d have such a titanic struggle for number one in the box office stakes.

Films usually drop off so severely in their second and third weeks on release that it’s a safe bet to put out another film guaranteed to draw in the crowds. However, The Dark Knight has so far proved to be a formidable opponent, and one that refuses to keel over and die without a fight.

Friday saw The Mummy open in cinemas around the US, but on its third Friday on the streets, The Dark Knight is running it close for takings. According to Variety, The Dark Knight has dropped 46% since opening weekend, which considering it has already taken $363.7 million domestically is a drop in the ocean. The film took $12.6 million on Friday.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor took an impressive $15.3 million on Friday, putting it slightly ahead of Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and company. Whether The Mummy can carry this momentum through the weekend remains to be seen though, and I personally think Batman still has some fight in it yet.