Posted: Tue., Aug. 12, 2008, 4:31pm PT

'Thunder' may strike 'Knight'

Stiller comedy looks to bring down Batman

After four weekends at the top, "The Dark Knight" should finally get washed out of first place.

DreamWorks and Paramount’s big-budget comedy "Tropic Thunder" opens at 3,319 playdates on Wednesday and has a good shot at staying No. 1 through the weekend.

Studio is looking for the Hollywood sendup, which stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr., to at least match the overall five-day take of last week’s "Pineapple Express" at $41.3 million.

"Thunder" costs a reported $90 million, however, compared to just $27 million for "Pineapple Express," giving DreamWorks substantially higher expectations to meet before its film exits theaters.

Because its auds skew older, "Tropic Thunder" is very unlikely to match "Pineapple’s" record-breaking $12.1 million debut last Wednesday. DreamWorks is looking for an opening day in the mid- to high single digits.

However, the pic should far exceed the $23.3 million opening weekend take for "Pineapple Express." Now that Warner Bros.’ megahit "The Dark Knight" is seeing its weekend grosses fall into the teens, "Thunder" will likely be No. 1 for the frame, with the only potential competition coming from Warner Bros.’ youth-skewing toon "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," which bows Friday.

After opening at No. 1 last Wednesday and Thursday then slipping back to No. 2 for the weekend, "Pineapple Express" took the top spot again on Monday, grossing $3.9 million vs. $3.8 million for "Dark Knight."


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