The trilogy-concluding Batman sequel from director Christopher Nolan added an estimated $36.4 million to the coffers at Warner Bros.  That marks a decline of 41% from the film's second weekend, something of a leveling-out after the steep drop from its debut last month.  The Dark Knight Rises now has a domestic total of $354.6 million, which is just under half of the current global total of $733.03 million.  At home, it currently trails its predecessor The Dark Knight by about $38 million at the same point in its run.

It's very unlikely that the new Batman adventure will surpass the last film's huge $533.3 million American haul, but its continued strong performance all over the world suggests that the cumulative total of The Dark Knight Rises has a chance of edging past the $1 billion of The Dark Knight.

Nolan's extensive use of IMAX cameras for about an hour of the film would seem to have paid off, as The Dark Knight Rises has set a a record in the format.  Roughly $48 million of its moneypile thus far has come from IMAX ticket sales.

Moving on.  Sony Pictures has long seemed pretty confident in Total Recall, a remake of the 1990 action-satire by certified ass-kicker Paul Verhoeven based on Philip K. Dick's We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.  The remake even won a release date game of chicken with The Bourne Legacy, which arrives this coming Friday.  The studio was doubtless hoping its science fiction adventure would debut with the same sort of appeal shown by Rise of the Planet of the Apes in the same frame last summer.

According to studio estimates, Total Recall opened in second place with $26 million.  That's in line with projections going into the weekend, but the Len Wiseman-directed actioner is a costly affair, and with all those explosions and chase sequences, Sony was doubtless hoping for a more robust debut.  A comparison to which many are pointing is that Verhoeven's 1990 original opened to $25.5 million, and given inflation, that means a whole lot more people saw the first Total Recall.  Additionally, the new, Mars-less version received a not-so-good C+ CinemaScore from audiences, suggesting that the film won't benefit from strong word of mouth.

Third place, meanwhile, is home to Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, the second sequel in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise.  The latest tale of Greg Heffley's wimpiness earned an estimated $14.7 million.  The first entry in the series not to open in March marks the lowest debut so far, trailing the $22.1 million and $23.8 million first weekends of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules in 2010 and 2011.

Here are the estimates for the top ten movies in America this weekend:

1. The Dark Knight Rises                        $36.4 million        $354.6 million

2. Total Recall                                          $26.0 million        New Release

3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days        $14.7 million        New Release

4. Ice Age: Continental Drift                   $8.4 million         $131.9 million

5. The Watch                                           $6.4 million         $25.4 million

6. Ted                                                      $5.5 million         $203.4 million

7. Step Up Revolution                            $5.3 million         $23.1 million

8. The Amazing Spider-Man                  $4.3 million         $250.6 million

9. Brave                                                   $2.9 million         $223.3 million

10. Magic Mike                                        $1.4 million         $110.9 million

Friday, August 10th sees wide releases for The Bourne Legacy and The Campaign.  Will either make it through a dust-up with Batman and walk away free of concussive brain trauma?