'Thunder' may strike 'Knight'

Stiller comedy looks to bring down Batman

By BEN FRITZ

Trackers predict that 'The Dark Knight' will lose the No. 1 spot to comedy 'Tropic Thunder.'

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."