Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" topped the North American box office for the fourth week in a row, final figures showed Monday, with its record haul topping 441.6 million dollars.
The hit film, which stars Christian Bale as Batman and the late Heath Ledger in a widely acclaimed turn as the villainous Joker, took another 26.1 million dollars on the Friday-Sunday period, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
It is the first time since 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" that a film has led the box-office on for four consecutive weekends.
Over its first four weeks the Warner Brothers film has broken a slew of records including best opening and second weekends, at 158.4 million dollars and 75.2 million dollars respectively.
The film is now the third highest-grossing film in US history, and is rapidly closing in on "Star Wars" in second place, with 460.9 million dollars.
Analysts say that "The Dark Knight" is unlikely to sink James Cameron's "Titanic", which holds the all-time record of 600.8 million dollars.
The ongoing success of "The Dark Knight" meant marijuana comedy "Pineapple Express" had to be content with second place in its opening weekend.
The Seth Rogen-starring film about a pothead who witnesses a murder -- but leaves a bit of his identifiable stash at the scene, giving a lead to the bad guys -- earned 23.2 million for the period.
In third place, another hopeful summer blockbuster, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," earned 16.5 million dollars, taking its two-week total to 71 million.
Another debuting film, chick-flick sequel "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" was fourth with a 10.7 million dollar take, followed by "Step Brothers" with 9.1 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were: "Mamma Mia! (8.2 million dollars), "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" (4.9 million), "Hancock" (3.3 million), "Wall-E (3.14 million) and "Swing Vote (3.12 million).
Photo
IVideo News Network: Entertainment
