'Dark Knight' sets box office record with $66.4M

Trinity · 07-19-08, 12:51 PM

'Dark Knight' sets box office record with $66.4M - Yahoo! News

Quote:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Batman's joust with the Joker has set another box office record.

Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, "The Dark Knight" set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Saturday.

The movie's Friday haul surpassed the previous record of $59.8 million set last year by "Spider-Man 3." "The Dark Knight" might break the opening-weekend record of $151.1 million, also held by "Spider-Man 3."

"I think they're in jeopardy," Fellman said of the "Spider-Man 3" records.

"The Dark Knight" began with a record $18.5 million from midnight screenings, topping the previous high of $16.9 million for "Star Wars: Episode III — The Revenge of the Sith."

The opening day grosses for "The Dark Knight" far exceeded the full weekend haul of its predecessor, "Batman Begins," which took in $48.7 million in its first three days in 2005.

Reviews were excellent for director Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins," but they were stellar for his "Dark Knight."

"We've really never seen anything like this," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "The death of a fine actor taken in his prime, a legendary performance, and a movie that lives up to all the hype. That all combined to create these record-breaking numbers."

Buzz had been high for the Batman sequel well before Ledger died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose in January. Trailers last fall revealing Ledger's demented Joker, with crooked clown makeup, turned up the heat even more. The critical acclaim over his performance that built from advance screenings left fans in a frenzy.

"It's a combination of things. Certainly, that's a great part of it, but I think this movie's gross was partly because of the reviews it received and the incredible buzz and word of mouth that preceded it with our early screenings," Fellman said. "And the success and quality of the last one, `Batman Begins,' delivered by Chris Nolan just set the tone for the opening of this movie."

"The Dark Knight" reunites Christian Bale as Batman, the vigilante crime-fighter tormented by personal tragedy, and co-stars Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Maggie Gyllenhaal also stars.

The film spins an epic crime duel as Ledger's Joker orchestrates a reign of terror on the city of Gotham aimed to spread chaos and break down the restraint that keeps Batman on the right side of the law.

While critics are taking the film seriously enough to suggest Ledger could be in line for an Academy Award nomination, the action-packed movie also delivers as pure summer movie escapism.

Yay!!!! Dark Knight takes #1 spot. Well-deserved too. Heath Ledger definitely deserves an oscar for his performance (tho posthumorously). Some say he is the scariest villain to date since Lector Hannibal. He definitely portrays a sick and fiendish psycho here. Awesome movie. Great action and good storyline. Full character portrayal into all the actors, giving u a very real sense of the movie.

Watch the trailer here :

YouTube - Batman Drak Knight Trailer

Another trailer here :

YouTube - The Dark Knight - COMCAST Trailer #4

My fav lines in the movie :

Joker : "Why so serious? .... Let's put a smile on that face."

and this one :

Joker (after getting kicked by Rachel in the groin) : "A little fight in you, I like that."

Batman (appears next to Rachel) : "Then you're gonna love me."

The Dark Knight Link : The Dark Knight (2008)

Trinity · 07-20-08, 01:24 PM

'Dark Knight' sets weekend record with $155.34M - MSN Movies News

'Dark Knight' sets weekend record with $155.34M

Quote:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood's box office superheroes.

"The Dark Knight" took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released the "Batman Begins" sequel.

That topped Hollywood's previous best of $151.1 million, set by "Spider-Man 3" in May 2007.

"We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did," Fellman said. The movie should shoot past the $200 million mark by the end of the week, he said.

Factoring in higher admission prices, however, "Spider-Man 3" may have sold slightly more tickets than "The Dark Knight."

At 2007's average price of $6.88, "Spider-Man 3" sold 21.96 million tickets over opening weekend. Box office tracker Media By Numbers estimates today's average movie prices at $7.08, which means "The Dark Knight" would have sold 21.94 million tickets.

The movie's release was preceded by months of buzz and speculation over the performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, Batman's nemesis. Ledger, who died in January from an accidental prescription-drug overdose, played the Joker as a demonic presence, his performance prompting predictions that the role might earn him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.

"The Dark Knight," which cost $185 million to make, also broke the "Spider-Man 3" record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. "Spider-Man 3" opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.

On opening day Friday, "The Dark Knight" also took in more money than previously counted, Fellman said. The film pulled in a record $67.85 million, up nearly $1.5 million from the studio's estimates a day earlier.

The previous opening-day record also had been held by "Spider-Man 3" with $59.8 million.

"The Dark Knight" began with a record $18.5 million from midnight screenings, topping the previous high of $16.9 million for "Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith."

The opening day grosses for "The Dark Knight" far exceeded the full weekend haul of its predecessor, "Batman Begins," which took in $48.7 million in its first three days in 2005.

Officially, Dark Knight is highest grossing film over opening weekend

Intransigent Atheist · 07-20-08, 06:47 PM

The Dark Knight is easily the best movie I've seen this year.

new coup for you · 07-20-08, 06:51 PM

It is the best movie I have ever seen in my entire life.

I love Batman so much. He's the champion of large, polluted, crime ridden industrial cities everywhere.

Lightdemon · 07-20-08, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by new coup for you

It is the best movie I have ever seen in my entire life.

I love Batman so much. He's the champion of large, polluted, crime ridden industrial cities everywhere.

Only cuz yer from jersey.

new coup for you · 07-20-08, 08:12 PM

Philadelphia is in PA, technically.

But it does have a lot more in common culturally with Jersey. So does New York.

Hatuey · 07-20-08, 08:18 PM

I think the 3rd act dragged a bit. Heath Ledger seemed too one dimensional and the dialog in the first 20 mins was horrible.

new coup for you · 07-20-08, 08:25 PM

...incorrect

Zyphlin · 07-21-08, 08:44 AM

I respect your opinions Hautey...

Here, come walk with me and I'll show you a magic trick and we'll make it all better

Ikari · 07-21-08, 10:02 AM

It was a great movie for sure, the past two weekends I've seen excellent movies; Hellboy 2 and now Dark Knight. Definitely worth seeing this in the theaters.