“The Dark Knight” has climbed past $400 million in just 18 days, hitting the mark faster than any film ever, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 
The film should pass the $403.7 million tally of ”Spider-Man” today, which would move it up to seventh on the all-time box office charts.  It would also make the film the top-grossing comic-book adaptation of all time.
Below are last weekend’s box-office totals from Nielsen EDI as of Sunday, August 3rd, as well as a full weekend box-office wrap-up from The Hollywood Reporter.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS

1
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$42,664,219
$393.8

2
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
UNIVERSAL
$40,457,770
$40.5

3
Step Brothers
SONY PICTURES
$16,506,526
$63.2

4
Mamma …

A significant percentage of R-rated dramas would earn more at the box office with a PG-13 rating, The Hollywood Reporter reported Tuesday.
Those findings come from a new Nielsen PreView study that compared the box-office performances of 400 R-rated and PG-13 films released between September 2005 and December 2007.
Nielsen’s analysis found that 34% of all R-rated drama titles would have performed better with a PG-13 rating, while about 17% of all comedies would benefit from a less restrictive rating. 
In contrast, few horror movies would have achieved higher gross earnings with a PG-13 rating, according to the …

For the second week in a row, the latest Batman feature “The Dark Knight” dominated the box office. The film has reached more than $300 million in total earnings faster than any other movie.

RANK
FILM
STUDIO
WEEKEND
GROSS

1
The Dark Knight
WARNER BROS.
$75,166,466
$313.80

2
Step Brothers
SONY PICTURES
$30,940,732
$30.90

3
Mamma Mia!
UNIVERSAL
$17,746,725
$62.60

4
The X-Files: I Want To Believe
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
$10,021,753
$10

5
Journey to the Center of the Earth
WARNER BROS.
$9,717,217
$60.50

6
Hancock
SONY PICTURES
$8,311,123
$206.50

7
Wall-E
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
$6,422,186
$195.30

8
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
UNIVERSAL
$5,100,305
$66.10

9
Space Chimps
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
$4,536,838
$16.20

10
Wanted
UNIVERSAL
$2,738,550
$128.60

Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI

The Hollywood Reporter details the other top films of the weekend.

With an estimated $62.5 million estimated take over the weekend, the Disney/Pixar animated film “Wall-E,” topped the charts, helping fuel a strong earnings year overall. According to The Hollywood Reporter, year-to-date earnings in 2008 have slightly eclipsed those from the same 2007 period: $4.62 billion vs. $4.6 billion.
The “WALL-E” debut was the fourth-biggest ever for Pixar, compared to a $70.5 million take for 2004’s “The Incredibles,” the $70.3 million opening for 2003’s “Finding Nemo” and a $62.6 million debut for  2001’s “Monsters, Inc.”
Additional updates and results at The Hollywood Reporter.
TOP …

Spy comedy “Get Smart”, starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, topped the box office charts over the weekend with $38.7 million, reports Nielsen EDI.  “The Incredible Hulk”, which owned the top spot last week, came in second with $22.1 million and Kung Fu Panda finished third this week at $21.9 million.   The full Top Ten of last weekend’s box office numbers is available at Nielsen’s website.