Not surprisingly, “The Dark Knight” has set a new box office record.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight” rocketed the Batman film franchise into the superhero stratosphere as it nabbed the highest weekend opening ever in grossing an estimated $155.4 million.
Tally beats the $151.1 million opening of “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007.
The victory dance didn’t end there. The domestic box office racked up an unprecedented $250 million in ticket sales on the enormous strength of filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” and the $27.6 million debut of Universal’s femme-favored “Mamma Mia!,” making it the biggest three-day weekend ever in terms of total grosses.
Previous record weekend tally was $218.4 million, set in early July 2007 when “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” debuted to $135.6 million.
Warners estimates that “Dark Knight,” returning Christian Bale as DC Comics’ famed superhero Batman and playing in a record 4,366 theaters, could gross as much as $220 million in its first week. That’s more than the entire domestic gross of Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” which cumed $205 million domestically and $166 million overseas. “Dark Knight’s” added popularity is due in part to the death of Heath Ledger, who stars as the creepiest Joker yet.
Source – Variety – Batman breaks box office bank
Despite huge expectations going into the release, the Caped Crusader turned in a massive performance in his sixth outing. The PG-13 film set the record for top single-day receipts Friday, hauling in almost $67.9 million on a record 4,366 screens, according to Media by Numbers.
Shot partially in Imax and shown on 94 Imax screens, “The Dark Knight” also set a weekend record for the oversize format, taking in $6.2 million. Imax tickets cost significantly more than regular tickets, which can skew the box-office total. “Spider-Man 3″ also opened in Imax theaters, but on only 84 screens.
Year to date, the biggest pictures are “Iron Man,” which has brought in $314.4 million in the U.S., and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” with a domestic total of $312.6 million.
The Bat-buzz was off the charts going into Friday — fueled by the success of the hero’s previous appearance on the silver screen, 2005’s “Batman Begins” (also directed by Chris Nolan), and because “The Dark Knight” features the final appearance of Heath Ledger, who plays the Joker. Ledger died in January at age 28 of an accidental drug overdose.
Nationwide, showing after showing sold out, with lines stretching around city blocks in some cases.
Source: LA Times - Box-office records fall to Batman’s heroics
“The Dark Knight” is also soaring in the international market.
The box office Batfrenzy swooped into international markets as “The Dark Knight” launched brightly with $40 million at 4,500 playdates in only 20 territories.
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As for “The Dark Knight,” Australia led the way with $13.1 million, the top launch weekend for a superhero pic in Oz, followed by Mexico with $6.6 million and Brazil with $4.3 million in that market’s best 2008 opening. Foreign Batgross should soar next weekend with “The Dark Knight” winging into Holland, Italy and the U.K.
The socko foreign debut for “The Dark Knight” — which finished a close second to the third frame of “Hancock” with $44.8 million at 8,286 — portends blockbuster offshore biz. Warner Bros. noted that the openings in the same markets came in 36% ahead of “Hancock” and 39% above “Iron Man,” both which have topped $250 million internationally.
Should “The Dark Knight” enter that realm, it would soar above the previous five Batman pics. That quintet’s racked up respectable rather than spectacular foreign biz with a combined $700 million overseas, led by the $166 million from 2005’s “Batman Begins.”
Source: Variety – ‘Knight’ mighty in overseas launch
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Here is the Dominos Pizza extended trailer for “The Dark Knight” a slightly longer trailer with more footage.
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“The Dark Knight” Box Office Sets New Record: $155.4 Million Opening Weekend
