"Dark Knight" overshadows box office rivals again
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Batman buried his rivals at the North American box office for a second weekend on Sunday, racing past $300 million in a record 10 days.
The Caped Crusader's blockbuster outing, "The Dark Knight," sold an estimated $75.6 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its haul to $314.2 million, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.
The previous speed record for a $300 million film was 16 days set by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" in 2006. "The Dark Knight" now ranks as the biggest movie of the year, surpassing the $315 million haul of "Iron Man."
The next target is $400 million, which took "Shrek 2" 43 days to reach in 2004. Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman predicted "The Dark Knight" would take just 18 days to reach that milestone.
As was the case with last weekend, when "The Dark Knight" enjoyed a record-breaking $158 million opening, the other films were a bit of an afterthought.
The Columbia Pictures comedy "Step Brothers," starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as perpetual adolescents, opened surprisingly strongly at No. 2 with $30 million. The 20th Century Fox sci-fi sequel "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" came in at No. 4 with $10.2 million, a figure at the lower end of expectations.
In between, the ABBA-inspired musical romance "Mamma Mia!" slipped one place to No. 3 with $17.8 million while its 10-day total rose to $62.7 million.
Carmen Electra & Kim Kardashian dazzle comics fans
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The line snaked through the Comic-Con floor. Hundreds of camera-toting fans jockeyed for position, barely able to contain their excitement.
They weren't trying to see the latest world-saving superhero or never-before-seen footage. They were waiting to see Carmen Electra and Kim Kardashian.
The two beauties made their Comic-Con debut Saturday, signing autographs to promote their new film, "Disaster Movie." Both wore formfitting, cleavage-bearing dresses as they posed for fans' photos.
For 18-year-old John Kilgore, attending the signing was the day's top priority.
"It's Carmen Electra," he explained. "What's not to like about a woman like that?"
David Benker, 46, was embarrassed to reveal exactly how excited he was to meet the two women.
"Aw, come on," he said. "My son is here and he'll tell his mom."
Most fans sheepishly shuffled by collecting their posters, but a few were brave enough to talk to the pinup pair.
"You look even more beautiful in person," said one blushing fan. "Wow."
Another whipped out his cell phone to show Electra her own photo. "You're on my screen saver right now," he said.
Despite the frenzy of excitement, the fans were well behaved, Electra said: "They were all really sweet."
A Lionsgate release, "Disaster Movie" — which features a wrestling scene between Kardashian and Electra — hits theaters Aug. 29.
'Indiana Jones' star LeBeouf arrested for DUI
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officers in Los Angeles say "Indiana Jones" co-star Shia LaBeouf has been arrested for drunk driving following an early morning car accident in Hollywood.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. S. Wolf says LaBeouf was the driver of a vehicle that was involved in a 3 a.m. collision.
LeBeouf and his passenger were injured, as was the other driver. Wolf said he didn't know the extent of their injuries.
Wolf says officers at the scene Sunday morning reported it was clear to them that LaBeouf was intoxicated.
Wolf says it is unknown whether LaBeouf will face felony or misdemeanor charges.