The O’Connells are back in action to take on a legion of the living dead and other CG beasties in Universal’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The heavily promoted, vfx-driven action-adventure entry is sure to lure moviegoers with the promise of dumb summer fun, but can it stop the box-office behemoth that is Warner Bros.’ The Dark Knight?
Brendan Fraser returns for another battle with resurrected evil and is joined this time by Maria Bello in the role played by Rachel Weiss in the first two films, as well as martial arts stars Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. This third installment is directed by Rob Cohen (Stealth, The Fast and the Furious), taking over for franchise helmer Stephen Sommers, who stayed on as producer. Rhythm & Hues and Digital Domain handled the dragon’s share of the visual effects work.
Fraser, Bello, Li, Yeoh, franchise regular John Hannah and newcomers Luke Ford and Isabella Leong appeared in person for Universal’s Mummy Comic-Con panel on Saturday. Fraser introduced an action sequence involving a pack of fierce, CG-animated yeti, and praised Li’s martial arts skills. ‘The guy can throw a roundhouse kick that only touches your shirt,’ he said. ‘He’s a pro.’ Bello, who is best known for doing serious dramas, said she was trilled to get the call from Cohen because she got into acting to be Indiana Jones and was beginning to think that she would never get the chance to be in a big action-adventure movie.
The only other movie opening wide today is Disney’s political comedy Swing Vote starring Kevin Costner. Timed to ride the coattails of the U.S. Presidential race, the pic stands to rack up respectable numbers for a 2,200-theater rollout. The Dark Knight still holds the highest number of theaters with 4,266, followed by Mummy with 3,759.
Going into its third week, Knight has already earned more than $470 million worldwide. The Christopher Nolan film broke the domestic box office record with its debut and is also the top draw overseas. As the movie rolls out in more territories, receipts from foreign markets are likely to surpass the $342.6 million earned in North America.
