WEEKEND TOP 5 STUDIO ESTIMATES, AUGUST 15-17, 2008 Rank. Movie Title (Distributor) Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. Tropic Thunder (Paramount (DreamWorks) $26.0 million | 3,319 | $37.0 million | 1

2. The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) $16.8 million | 3,590 | $471.5 million | 5

3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Warner Bros.) $15.5 million | 3,452 | $15.5 million | 1

4. Mirrors (Fox) $11.1 million | 2,664 | $11.1 million | 1

5. Pineapple Express (Sony / Columbia) $10.0 million | 3,072 | $62.9 million | 2

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

Some good news and bad news. Batman is dead. OK, not dead, just not first anymore. But Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder definitely worked hard to entertain. Perhaps the best news is The Clone Wars underperformed. True, this will probably only make George Lucas try harder to cram adventures of Anakin Skywalker down our throats. Pineapple Express is holding on to the fifth spot, with $10 million, which is tough considering it's an R-rated comedy just like Tropic. My hunch for next week ... Death Race kills the competition.