Troubled superheroes dominated their amnesiac sci-fi counterparts at the US box office this weekend, with The Dark Knight Rises continuing to captivate US moviegoers to the tune of $36.4m and Total Recall fizzling with a disappointing $26m.
Len Wiseman's Philip K. Dick redo, heading this side of the Pond at the end of August, came in at the lower end of its studio's predictions. Strangely, but perhaps fittingly for a movie about a man's struggles to escape the past, it shared an almost identical opening to Schwarzenegger's 1990 blockbuster, albeit a lot less flattering when you considering pesky factors like inflation.
The Olympics and continuing fall-out from the Aurora massacre made it a disappointing few days at the movies: 25% down on the corresponding weekend in 2011. But despite the rival attractions of other superheroes like Michael Phelps, Batman continued to post big numbers. The Dark Knight Rises cruised past $350m during its third week of release, becoming the third fast movie to do so behind The Avenger****s and The Dark Knight.
The week's other big release,** Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days**, made a disappointing $14.7 million, an opening weekend dip of about $7m on its two Wimpy predecessors
Head over to Box Office Mojo for the full rundown.