Bangkok Dangerous Tops Lackluster Weekend

LOS ANGELES ~ Bangkok Dangerous, starring Nicolas Cage as a ruthless hitman on assignment in Thailand, topped an anemic North American weekend box office, earning just US$7.8 million in receipts, according to industry figures.
The spoof Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller’s movie-within-a-movie about a group of actors filming a war flick in the middle of a real-life conflict zone, was a close second, earning $7.2 million in its fourth week of release, according to the industry tracking company Exhibitor Relations.
In third place with $5.5 million was the Batman blockbuster sequel The Dark Knight.
The House Bunny, about an ousted Playboy bunny who becomes the house mother at a dysfunctional college sorority, was fourth, also earning $5.5 million.
In fifth place was Traitor, a war-on-terror epic featuring Don Cheadle as a former US Special Ops officer and potential international conspirator, with $4.3 million in receipts.
Babylon A.D. a sci-fi action thriller starring Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh, earned $4.2 million for a sixth-place spot.
In seventh was Death Race, an action-adventure flick about an ex-convict competing against prison inmates in a brutal, freedom-or-death car race, reaping $3.7 million, followed by the farce Disaster Movie, which had $3 million in ticket sales.
Ninth place was claimed by the Abba musical Mamma Mia with $2.9 million in earnings, followed by marijuana comedy Pineapple Express with $2.3 million.