Dark Knight Rises Reigns, Total Recall Reboot Defeated

This time last year, a new take on an old franchise ruled the weekend box office.

Safe to say, history has not repeated itself.

The Dark Knight Rises remained the undefeated No. 1 film, while the Colin Farrell-fronted Total Recall reboot barely opened bigger than its 22-year-old predecessor.   

"For a late summer film, with a budget like this, you obviously expect more," Exhibitor Relations box-office analyst Jeff Bock said Sunday. "…It's definitely a misfire."

The new Total Recall, which cost, per wildly varying reports, anywhere from $125 million to $200 million, took in an estimated $26 million.

The debut was more in line with the domestic non-starter that was Battleship than Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which on the same weekend last year bowed with $54.8 milion.

The new film also failed to make an impact like the Paul Verhoeven-Arnold Schwarzeneggeroriginal which, on the strength of 1990 ticket prices and about 2,000 screens (1,600 less than the Farrell version), opened at No. 1 with $25.5 million.

Overseas, the reboot opened at No. 1 in several countries. But its international number—$6.2 million—isn't yet showy.

The Dark Knight Rises, meanwhile, took in another $36.4 million, a good hold from last weekend, and held onto to the top spot for a third straight weekend. Its domestic total now stands at $354.1 million.

Where does Dark Knight Rises go from here?

Elsewhere, the third Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, Dog Days, became the smallest-opening installment of the franchise. But with a budget of $22 million, its $14.7 million debut was still strong.

The Andy Samberg-Rashida Jones date-night movie, Celeste and Jesse Forever, had a big opening in limited release, taking in $112,061 from four theaters.

Among the holdovers, Ted kept performing like the teddy-bear version of The Hangover movies, crossing $200 million at the domestic box office, while The Amazing Spider-Man hit $250 million.

Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom slipped out of the Top 10. The art-house hit has taken in $40.8 million domestically.

Here's a complete look at the weekend's top movies, per Friday-Sunday domestic estimates as reported by the studios and Exhibitor Relations:

    The Dark Knight Rises, $36.4 million
    Total Recall, $26 million
    Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, $14.7 million
    Ice Age: Contiental Drift, $8.4 million
    The Watch, $6.4 million
    Ted, $5.5 million
    Step Up Revolution, $5.3 million
    The Amazing Spider-Man, $4.3 million
    Brave, $2.9 million
    Magic Mike, $1.4 million

(Originally published at 9:36 a.m. PT on Aug. 5, 2012.)