The summer movie season is quickly winding to a close, but given the lasting impact of "The Dark Knight," it won't soon become a distant memory.

Now granted, a big box office returned doesn't always determine a film's success, especially given how much it took to make the movie in the first place. Still, there are many clears hits and misses, and while the jury is still out on "Tropic Thunder" (which opened with a boom) and "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (there appears to be a disturbance in The Force), here's a rundown of what moviegoers watched most -- and least -- this past summer.

Hits

With the burning anticipation left in the wake of co-star Heath Ledger's death, it was a given that "The Dark Knight" was going to be a huge draw. But could have anybody anticipated a Titanic-sized box office take?

For those even vaguely familiar with the short history of the Batman franchise re-boot, it was clear from the healthy take of the 2005 blockbuster "Batman Begins" that "The Dark Knight" had a pedigree for success. With an ingenious writer-director in Christopher Nolan at the helm and stars the caliber of Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Ledger, it was pretty apparent by the film's first full-length trailer -- released before Ledger's death in January -- that the film was going to easily surpass its predecessor.

Of course, the party is far from over for "The Dark Knight." With a gaggle of awards waiting in the wings (will Oscar be daring enough to honor the film -- which is not only a superhero action adventure, but a bona fide crime drama -- the attention it so richly deserves?), "The Dark Knight" has amassed a domestic take of $471 million to date, and may very well top "Titanic's" $600 million record by the time all is said and done.

"Iron Man" ($317 million box office) was perhaps the bellwether of good things to come as it kicked off the summer movie season with a $98.6 million opening the first weekend in May. Robert Downey Jr. soared high in the title role of writer-director Jon Favreau's smart take on Marvel Comics' iron-clad superhero, bringing his brilliant brand of quirk to the masses in one of the year's most entertaining performances.

Critics and some fans didn't exactly warm up to the George Lucas-influenced alien storyline and the introduction of Shia LaBeouf as Indy (Harrison Ford) and Marion's (Karen Allen) love child, but there's no question that director Steven Spielberg was at the top of his game at the helm of his fourth Indy movie. While the story missed the boat for some, there's no denying "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" ($315 million box office to date) felt like an Indiana Jones movie and should be held in the same regard as its predecessors.

While "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones" were the only two films apart from "The Dark Knight" to crack the $300 million mark at the box office, several skated past the $200 million threshold. Will Smith, the closest actor to a sure-thing at the summer box office, soared to a $225 million domestic take as the reluctant superhero "Hancock," while the computer-animated robot tale "WALL-E" programmed in more than $214 million. Another animated adventure, DreamWorks "Kung Fu Panda" kicked up $207 million in ticket sales.

The summer also proved that audience members still liked "Sex in the City," as the film, which reunited Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis for took in more than $151 million. Mixed reviews obviously didn't hurt the film, nor did similar mixed notice keep moviegoers away from Meryl Streep and "Mamma Mia!" -- the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical. Featuring the music of ABBA, "Mamma Mia!" has danced to the tune of $116 million so far, with more box office cash in the waiting.

The summer box office was also good to another television show-turned-movie in "Get Smart," starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway in the icon roles of Maxwell Smart and Agent 99. The film earned a respectable $128 million. Audience members also took a gamble on the Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz comedy "What Happens in Vegas," which cashed in on $80 million in ticket sales against a $35 million budget.

Under-Achievers

While some films didn't live up to expectations box office-wise, it didn't mean they were exactly busts, either. M. Night Shyamalan's latest mystery, "The Happening," barely happened with $64 million take, and Adam Sandler's commando-turned-hairstylist comedy, "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" overcame a thrashing from the critics to earn $99 million. Brendan Fraser's action-adventure, "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D" also eclipsed its reported $60 million budget with an $88 million take -- an amount that probably would have been a lot healthier if there were a lot more digital theaters in the country to deliver on the film's heavily advertised gimmick.

As for the reboot of Marvel's "The Incredible Hulk" franchise, let's just say it didn't deliver the amount of green expected. Five years past the disappointment simply known as "The Hulk," the follow-up, of sorts (not exactly a sequel), starred Edward Norton as Bruce Banner and stayed more true to the character's comic book roots. Nonetheless, the film fell about $16 million short of its production budget with a take of $134 million domestically.

While "The Incredible Hulk" is all but spent at the box office, "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," still has a long-shot chance to get out of the red. Still playing in about 500 theaters, the film has earned about $74 million to date, about $11 million short of its reported production budget.

Misses

The third movie in "The Mummy" series, "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," has the benefit of Brendan Frasier returning to the fold, but even with the addition of Jet Li to the cast, it's not looking good for the film in its third week of release. It has pulled in $87 million so far, but has a reported budget of $145 million.

At least the film has a chance to muster more at the box office, unlike others this summer that suffered a quick exit.

"Speed Racer," Andy and Larry Wachowski's adaptation of the classic anime series was barely out of the gate before it became clear it wasn't going to race past its reported $120 million production budget. Running out of gas long before the benchmark, the film ended up grossing $44 million.

Among the most notable busts of the summer was Mike Myers' "The Love Guru," the "Shrek" funnyman's first original character for the big-screen since his beloved spoof British superspy, Austin Powers. Savaged by reviewers and largely ignored by moviegoers, "The Love Guru" nabbed only $32 million overall against a $62 million budget.

But while Myers' "Love Guru," it was even worse for his "Shrek" partner-in-crime Eddie Murphy. Snake-bitten by last year's reviled comedy "Norbit," Murphy's "Meet Dave" stands to be the biggest bust of the summer.

Apparently having forgotten that space-themed comedies were not a good idea (remember "Pluto Nash"), Murphy played a space vessel for a tiny version of himself for "Meet Dave," which has scored a dismal $10 million box office to date, against a $60 million budget.

Even though "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" didn't make a lot of believers in theaters, its fate wasn't nearly as disastrous as you would think. The film earned $20 million against a reported $30 million budget.

Finally, a quick glance at its numbers, the "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" follow-up "Prince Caspian" appears to be a hit with $141 million in ticket sales. But considering the film had a reported $200 million budget, the film fell far short of its target domestically.