DreamWorks-Paramount's Tropic Thunder 'got some' at the weekend, to paraphrase the marketing slogan deployed on posters across the US, as the action comedy outgunned The Dark Knight to open top on an estimated $26m over three days.

The story of a catastrophic film shoot in the South-East Asian jungle launched on Wednesday [Aug 13] and grossed $37 over five days. Ben Stiller directed and stars alongside Robert Downey Jr and Jack Black, with support from Steve Coogan and Nick Nolte and a memorably manic cameo by Tom Cruise.

Tropic Thunder had too much firepower for The Dark Knight and knocked
the Warner Bros juggernaut into second place for the first time in five weeks. The Batman epic is still showing good legs and added $16.8m for $471.5m to anchor its place as the second biggest grossing film of all time according to unadjusted figures.

The animated feature Star Wars: The Clones Wars opened through Warner Bros in third place on $15.5m while Fox's horror title Mirrors starring Kiefer Sutherland debuted in fourth on $11.1m.

The Weinstein Company was in ebullient mood after Woody Allen's Cannes favourite Vicky Cristina Barcelona launched in tenth place on $3.7m. The Weinsteins acquired North American rights In January, some four and a half months before the intricate romantic caper premiered on the Croisette in May. Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz star.

In the limited arena, Paramount Vantage's high school documentary American Teen added $102,812 from 105 venues for $656,207. Samuel Goldwyn's Philip Roth adaptation Elegy from Lakeshore Entertainment added $54,054 from six screens for $214,406 and will expand into the top 25 markets on August 22.

Music Box Films' French thriller Tell No One added $320,000 for $3.4m and Palm Pictures' Patti Smith: Dream Of Life as grossed $31,215.

Next weekend's wide releases are: Fox's comedy The Rocker starring Rainn Wilson and Christina Applegate; sports comedy The Longshots through MGM starring Ice Cube and Tasha Smith; Sony's comedy The House Bunny with Anna Faris; and Universal's action remake Death Race starring Jason Statham, Joan Allen and Tyrese Gibson.

Estimated Top 10 North America Aug 15-17, 2008
Film (Dist)/Int'l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date

1 (-) Tropic Thunder (DreamWorks-Paramount) PPI $26m $37m
2 (1) The Dark Knight (Warner Bros) WBPI $16.8m $471.5m
3 (-) Star Wars: The Clones Wars (Warner Bros) WBPI $15.5m -
4 (-) Mirrors (Fox) Fox Int'l $11.1m -
5 (2) Pineapple Express (Sony) SPRI $10m $62.9m
6 (3) The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (Universal) UPI $8.6m $86.6m
7 (6) Mamma Mia! (Universal) UPI $6.5m $116.4m
8 (4) The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2 (Warner Bros) WBPI $5.9m $32.1m
9 (5) Step Brothers (Sony) SPRI $5m $90.9m
10 (-) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (TWC) Wild Bunch $3.7m -