Movies

LOS ANGELES – It took four of Hollywood's biggest stars to take down Batman.

The comedy Tropic Thunder, produced by Dream Works-Paramount and starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise, debuted at No. 1 with $26 million, bumping The Dark Knight to second place after four weekends on top, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Warner Bros. Batman flick pulled in $16.8 million to raise its total to $471.5 million. With that, The Dark Knight passed the original Star Wars ($461 million) and now stands as No. 2 on the all-time domestic charts, behind only Titanic ($600.8 million).

Tropic Thunder was the third R-rated comedy to open solidly in recent weeks, following Pineapple Express and Step Brothers .

Most summer comedies are rated PG-13, since an R rating limits the audience by requiring anyone younger than 17 to come with an adult.

"We're thrilled, quite frankly. It played out exactly how we hoped," said DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan.

Mr. Stiller directed and co-wrote Tropic Thunder, in which he stars with Mr. Downey and Mr. Black as pampered actors who find themselves in a real combat situation while shooting a Vietnam War epic. Mr. Cruise co-stars as a bald, egomaniacal studio boss.

Tropic Thunder raised its total to $37 million since opening Wednesday.

Here are the estimated weekend totals for the top 10 films.