[_____V_____]

Universal's "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" fell just short of stealing the box office crown from juggernaut "The Dark Knight," which dropped only 42% in its third weekend to come within shouting distance of the $400 million mark in domestic ticket sales.

"Dragon Emperor," which returns the "Mummy" franchise to the bigscreen after a seven-year absence, opened to an estimated $42.5 million domestically from 3,759 screens, while Warner Bros.' "Dark Knight" grossed an estimated $43.8 million from 4,266. Cume is now $394.9 million.

Overseas, the Rob Cohen-directed "Dragon Emperor" displayed far more firepower, grossing an estimated $59.5 million from 28 territories and easily beating "Dark Knight" for the No. 1 spot at the international box office.

Privately, U and most box office observers had expected "Dragon Emperor" to beat "Dark Knight" at the domestic box office, but the Batman sequel's resilience and muscle continued to surprise.

A big reason for the runaway success of "Dark Knight" is that the film is appealing to a broad audience, not just Batman diehards.

"It's a movie that has overperformed at every turn. To have a 42% drop in the third weekend is a tremendous hold," said Warners exec VP of distribution Jeff Goldstein. "Everyone is going — everyone."

On Saturday, "Dark Knight" saw an increase of 35% over Friday's gross, fueling its boffo weekend biz.

"Dark Knight," co-produced and co-financed by Legendary Pictures, should cross the $400 million boundary today or Tuesday, and in record time. It took current record-holder "Shrek 2" 43 days to reach $400 million.

Most now believe the Batman sequel's gross will hit near $500 million domestically. That would make it the second highest grossing film of all time after "Titanic," which cumed $600.8 million in North America.