The Dark Knight's four-weekend hold on the No. 1 box office spot may finally be over.
Tropic Thunder, the megawatt war epic parody starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr., is expected to bump Knight to second place, according to Variety. The other major release this weekend is the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Studio heads at DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures anticipate that Thunder, which opens at more than 3,000 theaters Wednesday, will beat the $23 million weekend take of Seth Rogen's stoner shootout, Pineapple Express. However, Thunder isn't expected to smoke* Express*' $12 million opening-day haul (a record for an August release).
Update: Online movie ticket hub Fandango.com is reporting ticket sales for Thunder are outpacing Knight, furthering speculation that the Bat signal may fall to second place.
Photo courtesy Paramount Pictures
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