Despite two more wide releases having entered theaters on Wednesday, The Dark Knight topped the box office for a fourth straight weekend, adding an estimated $26 million for a massive domestic total of $441.5 million.
Last week it fended off The Mummy, this week it held back the Pineapple Express. With sales of $7.6m, $10.5m and $7.9m, The Dark Knight amassed a weekend total of $26m, beating the Pineapple Express’ $22.4m,
If the estimate holds, then the Christopher Nolan-directed film has surpassed Shrek 2 ($441.226 million) to climb to the third spot on the all-time domestic blockbuster list, trailing just Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope ($460.998 million) and Titanic ($600.788 million).
Warner Bros. Pictures said it expects "Dark Knight" to end up with about $520 million domestically. The movie cost $185 million to make.
Internationally, The Dark Knight added $35.1 million at 7,000 theaters and has pushed its overseas total to $263 million for a worldwide total of $704.5 million.
My thoughts:
That's pretty amazing in this modern day and age for a movie to be in the top spot for 4 weeks,especially in the summer. 3rd biggest selling all time domestic blockbuster, it look possible on to beat Star Wars Episode IV, which it trails by $19m.
I'm sure lots of people, including the producers of Dark Knight are pleasantly surprised at the success of this movie. It just shows making a great movie is all about good storytelling, not plugging silly merchandise or trying to appeal to kids (Batman and Robin anyone?)
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It's a puzzle worthy of the Riddler. Where's the Dark Knight Video Game?
For the first time in the film-franchise's history, the caped crusader flew into movie theaters without a video game attached to his utility belt.
Despite a plethora of "Dark Knight" action figures, bobbleheads and T-shirts sweeping in Bat-dollars beyond the film's $400 million record-smashing box office, no "Dark Knight" game is following suit.
Whatever held things up caused about $100 million in sales to be missed, according to estimates.
It's not as if an interactive "Dark Knight" wasn't gearing up before the film's release. Game publisher Electronic Arts had the rights to make a "Dark Knight" title, which EA-owned developer Pandemic Studios was working on, according to an EA manager who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is proprietary.
Gary Oldman, the actor who plays Gotham City police officer James Gordon, said in a recent interview with cable network G4 that he had seen a "tiny little piece" of "The Dark Knight" game and described a sequence with Batman realistically gliding across rooftops. Oldman also said the game is supposed to feel like it "doesn't stop and start."
Beyond that, details about the game have been as concealed as Bruce Wayne in the Batsuit. Spokespeople for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, EA and Pandemic would not comment for this story.
Based on the record-breaking success of the movie, Wedbush Morgan video game industry analyst Michael Pachter believes a "Dark Knight" game released at the same time as the blockbuster film last month could have sold 4 million units and banked $100 million -- with $70 million going to the game's publisher and $30 million going to Warner Bros.
Sales of movie-based games often parallel their box-office brethren. Last year's "Transformers" games sold 2.6 million copies while the "Spider-Man III" games sold 2.1 million, according to sales data from NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier. Even the "Iron Man" games have sold 697,000 units following their release at the same time as the film in May.
To quote Jack Nicholson's Joker: "And where ... is the Batman?"
"I think publishers have concluded the only games that work are the surefire $500 million box office kind of games like 'Spider-Man' and 'Shrek,"' Pachter told The Associated Press. "The 'Transformers' game really surprised people how well it did, but the movie was big. I don't think they expected 'The Dark Knight' movie to be this big."
Games pegged to comic-book and kiddie flicks have become as financially important to the movie industry as popcorn and candy. Movie-based games provide another revenue stream to movie studios and often give game publishers a fighting chance for consumers' cash, mostly thanks to movie buzz and instantly recognizable characters.
Since director Tim Burton first brought "Batman" to the big screen in 1989, games tied to every Batman film -- including "Batman Returns," "Batman & Robin" and "Batman Forever" -- have been released for various gaming platforms. EA might have decided to bow out of the Batman business after what happened with the previous movie-based adaptation.
In 2005, EA unleashed a "Batman Begins" game alongside director Chris Nolan's moody re-imagination of the Batman franchise. The stealth action game featured the voices of the film's stars, such as Christian Bale, Katie Holmes and Morgan Freeman. But the game received a lukewarm critical reception and only sold 587,000 copies. Ker-plop!
If a "Dark Knight" game is still in the works, Batman could take a cue from Superman. Because of delays, the EA console games based on 2006's "Superman Returns" didn't take flight until the DVD release -- and only then sold 705,000 copies. However, a "Dark Knight" game isn't on EA's release slate through March 2009, according to the EA manager.
That doesn't mean gamers will be without interactive incarnations of Batman, The Joker and Two-Face this year. Warner will release "Lego Batman: The Video Game" in September. The cartoony platform game developed by Traveller's Tales will feature the caped crusader and company solving puzzles and fighting foes in the form of the famous colorful blocks.
In November, DC Comics characters such as Batman, The Joker and Catwoman can duel in Midway's fighting game "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe." And later this year, Sony Online Entertainment will shine the Bat-signal on a virtual Gotham City in the new massively multiplayer online role-playing game "DC Universe Online.
Warner Bros. hints that "The Dark Knight" could be the first release on Blu-ray to feature BD-Live.
With the enormous success of the movie Warner will no doubt make something special out of its DVD and Blu-ray releases and it could make the studio go for BD-Live.
The studio has hinted that a group of people will be able to start the movie simultaneously allowing for chat under and after the movie. Other possible features include library access and more."
It is also reported that The Dark Knight could come out on DVD and Blu-ray by November or December with December 9th targeted as a release date for the Blue-Ray Version and Novemeber 1st for the DVD version.
Both are expected to be huge sellers during the year end holiday season.
We will keep you updated regularly on the release in the near future as more news is released. We'll Also Have A Review Of The "Batman Begins" DVD/Blu-Ray This Coming Week.
What would you like to see included in the DVD and Blu Ray version of The Dark Knight? Share with us your thoughts in the comments section.
Lately the question has come up around the new Batman movie. Several observers have pointed out what's been increasing suspected— that The Dark Knight seems blighted.
Evidence: Star-on-the-rise Heath Ledger, who portrays The Joker, died of an overdose of prescription drugs in January. Christian Bale, who plays Batman, was arrested on assault charges after a dust-up with his mother and sister around the time of the film's premiere in London.
And there's more. This past week, Morgan Freeman, who plays Bruce Wayne's friend Lucius Fox, was seriously injured in an accident in Mississippi. A special effects technician was killed in a truck accident in September.
The original Batgirl, Barbara "Babs" Gordon is the daughter of Police Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon. In Alan Moore's acclaimed graphic novel The Killing Joke, the Joker shot Babs in the spinal cord. Babs had to quit her role as Batgirl but continued to help Batman as Oracle, the informer broker.
In No Man's Land, both Batman and Babs (as Oracle) agreed to let Cassandra Cain, daughter of assassin Cain, wear the Batgirl costume and become Oracle's ward. Cassandra Cain goes on to become the present Batgirl.
Babs continues to help Batman as Oracle and also becomes the leader of a female crimefighting team Birds of Prey. Babs is also known to be in love with Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who quit his role as the boy wonder to become solo crimefighter, Nightwing.
Barbara Gordon is highly intelligent and is trained in the martial art of eskrima. Oracle is listed in BusinessWeek's top ten most intelligent fictional characters in American comics as the only female character on the list, joining the likes of Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark and Charles Xavier. ---DarkKnightCity
Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, surpassed the first Spider-man movie to 7th place on the all-time domestic blockbuster list on Tuesday, making it the biggest comic book movie of all-time in North America.
After just 19 days, The Dark Knight's box-office total stands at $405.7 million and counting . Spider-man took its entire run in 2002 to reach $403.7million domestically. It is possible for The Dark Knight to catch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which sits at 6th place with $423.3 million.
Director Christopher Nolan feels that Heath Ledger, who plays the Joker in The Dark Knight, deserves all the credit for the movie's massive box-office success, "He was what the Joker in our film needs to be. We were looking for an actor with the fierceness, excitment and teeth to do our version of the Joker."
Heath Ledger plays the role of the Joker in The Dark Knight. No, not just that. He also gave the best portrayal on one of the most definitive villains of comic books.According to director Christopher Nolan, "I talked to Heath a lot about The Dark Knight's depiction of the Joker as a force of anarchy even as we were writing the script, finishing the script, I should say.
And we both agreed that that is the most threatening force that society faces is that of pure anarchy, of someone who wants to do harm for its own sake and really for his own entertainment."
What Heath is doing is very unique, and really I think pretty amazing and very frightening, as the character should be."The whole tone of Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight is what it should be and he did an amazing job with a striking performance."
The Joker is an extremely crazy and intelligent villain who is often admired because he is the greatest foe of the Batman, and one of the greatest in the DC universe. There are a lot of things that attract you to him, his quirks, his plans, his reactions, the Joker is a joy to read in the comics and Heath Ledger was a joy to watch in The Dark Knight.
When asked about Heath Ledger's performance, Gary Oldman who plays police commissioner Jim Gordon said, "What Heath is doing is going to blow you away. It is very dangerous and very unhinged, what he is doing. And how he plays it is like Coco the Clown on crack." ---DarkKnightCity
Batman's first venture into the film world was in the 15 part 1943 serial The Batman.
In those days, vigilantes who handles the law by themselves were deemed not suitable for the mainstream audience and so Batman and Robin were part of the FBI! ---DarkKnightCity
Batman: The Long Halloween is a 13-issue comic book limited series written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale. The collection of the series was also published as a graphic novel.
The Long Halloween is a major influence on the stories of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Hailed as one of the greatest Batman stories of all-time, it touches on Batman's early years with a noir theme.
Batman, Commissioner Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent vowed to capture the mob boss Carmine "The Roman" Falcone but a mysterious serial killer who calls himself "Holiday" is murdering family members of the mob one by one on every significant holidays on the calendar.
Batman, Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon investigates the murders to find out the identity of the killer. Batman runs into Catwoman, who has her own deals with the Falcone family and their "friendship" starts to build.
Batman seeks help from the Calendar Man, who is in Arkham Asylum for committing murders on holidays, and the Riddler, to analyze the notes left by Holiday. Batman finds that Holiday has accomplices and further investigations lead to surprising results.
The Long Halloween features the origin of Two-Face and spans an entire year of Batman's career as a masked vigilante following the events in Batman: Year One, another noir masterpiece. With intelligent writing from Jeph Loeb and great art by Tim Sale, The Long Halloween ends with a twist and lays down the anticipation for its sequel Dark Victory. ---Sean Hein
Former Catwoman and ‘Batman icon’ Julie Newmar thinks that Angelina Jolia would be the best choice to appear in the next Batman if Catwoman becomes the next villain as quoted in NY Daily.
“Angelina would own the part. My industry friends tell me [she] has made inquiries about the role. I can understand how it would pique her interest. Catwoman is Batman’s one true love.
She’s tremendously popular with women because she’s both a heroine and a villainess. When you look at the staggering box office of this current film, which actress wouldn’t want to jump in?”
Johnny Depp to play The Riddler is heavily rumoured as well.
“(Producers) are convinced that the role of the Riddler is perfect for Depp. Johnny’s a pro. He’ll be able to take direction from director Chris Nolan and still make the character his own.”
At this point, these rumours are simply that, rumours. With the director Christopher Nolan not yet signed on to the next Batman 3, the status of the next Batman Movie is still up in the air.
The screenwriter of the Batman Movie has casted doubts on a third Batman Movie. David Goyer revealed in a interview that a third movie is not set in stone and it could “go either way“.
“I think that’s the scariest thing – to think, could we come up with a third movie that was as good as the first two? Can we top ourselves?” screenwriter David Goyer asked aloud, almost rhetorically, in a recent conversation with MTV News. “Doing it a third time would be a big proposition.”
Make no mistake about it, though, a third film HAS been discussed, Goyer confessed, revealing that, while nothing is concrete, both a villain and a theme have been bandied about.
“We’ve only talked loosely about it, though, Chris and I,” Goyer said.
“I have one,” Goyer said laughing. “But I’m not going to tell you. Chris is very particular about that.
“I do think, though, that if there’s not a third film – these two movies stand on their own,” he added. “I think it could go either way.”
It is believe that The Joker was originally written into the first draft of a Batman 3 story and that all references have since been removed.
Cinema Blend has quoted a unamed source "Two-Face will feature prominently in the next film, “covering his origins”
However the general consensus is that this is very unlikely to happen. A more likely event however s that the graphic novels "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" will also be referenced in the third movie.
In another note, Morgan Freeman who has appeared in both Batman Begin and The Dark Knight as Lucius Fox(Batman Equipment Supplier and CEO of Wayne Enterprise) was involved in a car accident.
Morgan Freeman is in a serious condition after a car accident late on Sunday night, traveling Eastbound on Mississippi Highway 32 in Tallahatchie County. His Nissan Maxima edged off the road, and by over-correcting, Freeman flipped the vehicle.
Emergency crews pulled Freeman and his passenger from the wreck using the “jaws of life“, before airlifting to the MED in Memphis.
Reports say that whilst crews were cutting Mr Freeman out, he was lucid and joking with the rescue workers.
"The Dark Knight" fended off a strong challenge from the new "Mummy" sequel to lead the North American box office for a third weekend, and is on track to become the second-biggest movie of all time.
The Batman blockbuster earned $43.8 million for the three days beginning Friday, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday. Universal's "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" followed with $42.5 million.
The Walt Disney Co. political comedy "Swing Vote" came in at No. 6 with just $6.3 million, the latest disappointment for its star, Kevin Costner, who has not had a $100 million movie since 1992's "The Bodyguard."
The total for "The Dark Knight" rose to $394.9 million. Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, said it expects the film to add at least $100 million, surpassing the $461 million haul of 1977's "Star Wars" and its two reissues, the current No. 2 movie of all time in the United States and Canada.
The $601 million record, held by 1997's "Titanic," seems watertight. Adjusted for inflation, though, "Titanic" ranks at No. 6, far behind "Gone with the Wind" at $1.4 billion, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo.
"The Dark Knight" will add yet another record to its impressive tally on Monday or Tuesday, when it breaks $400 million, which would be its 18th or 19th day of release. The old record of 43 days is held by 2004's "Shrek 2."
If you have not watched "The Dark Knight" yet for some reason(have you been living in a cave?) and want to understand what's the big hype about this movie. Check out the opening sequence of this summer blockbuster. The Dark Knight is a follow up to the 2005 Batman Begins , a reboot of the entire Batman Franchise after the embrassment and flop that was Batman and Robin.
The Dark Knight features on the Psychotic Joker and his Campaign to take over Gotham City while battling the Batman(Bruce Wayne) and Harvey Dent( A New District Attonery) and is a follow up sequel to 2005 Batman Begins.
Have you watched the Dark Knight? What is your views and thoughts about it? Has it lived up to the hype? Share your comments and views with other readers in our comments section.
As Rachel Dawes perished in The Dark Knight, Batman 3 will need a new female lead and words are around that it's likely to be a feline. Catwoman is likely to be both a villain and Bruce Wayne's love interest in the third installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman series.
Catwoman's appearance in the film is ever so likely if the Nolan brothers and David Goyer are to further adapt the graphic novels Batman: The Long Halloween and its sequel Dark Victory.
As she plays a big role in the graphic novels and with the spot of a female lead character needing to be filled, we'll just have to guess who will play Catwoman.
As for the choice of a second villain, it may be the return of Two-Face and/or the Joker. Both Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger signed deals for two Batman films and Two-Face is an important character in The Long Halloween.
Nolan wants realistic theme and characters in his Batman series, thus we won't be seeing villians that need a lot of CGI special Effects, such as Killer Croc, Man-Bat and even Poison Ivy.
The Riddler will make a good addition to the series, as he can fill the void left by the Joker to give Batman mental tests of wit.
If Nolan is really serious about realistic villains, how about the mob boss Carmine "The Roman" Falcone? His inclusion will move the film further into the noir genre that was initiated by TDK.
One thing that's almost certain is that we won't be seeing Robin in the next Batman movie because Christopher Nolan does not want to work on the Boy Wonder. It will be a waste not to see Joker again but if he is to return, who will replace Heath Ledger as the clown prince? -- Sean Hein
Director Christopher Nolan stated that Batman 3 will be his last Batman movie and Christian Bale announced that he'll continue as Batman only if Nolan is directing. So what will happen to Batman after Nolan hangs the towel?
Who will be the director to replace him and carry on the dark and realistic theme of his version of Batman? Who will replace Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader? These questions and a few others remain in unanswered.
Even though the realistic theme is working magnificient for Nolan's Batman, it will be great for fans of the comic to see characters such as Nightwing, Batgirl, and Catwoman helping Batman to defeat villains like Black Mask, Bane, Poison Ivy, Clayface and Killer Croc in future Batman movies. It will be pleasing if Superman makes an appearance.
The realistic feel of The Dark Knight brings in more adult audience and the film is also enjoyable for those who does not like Batman or thinks it's for kids.
However, if the studio is to stay true to the Caped Crusader's comic ventures and please the hard-core fans, characters and villains of Batman's later years will have to appear in future films to portray masterpiece storylines such as The Dark Knight Returns, War Games, No Man's Land and Hush.
The no-CGI- based villains rule will have to be broken but how these interesting characters will be portrayed in the most realistic way possible will depend on the future writers and director of the franchise.
One of the best trailer you'll see this year in cinemas, and it got batman series fans and movies fans in high anticipation and frenzy when it was released prior to the movie release.
Most of the excitment was built upon seeing the Joker for the first time. And hype over the Joker reached a new height following the news of the death of Heath Ledger, who portray the Joker in what was his last complete work, due to accident drug overdose.
Meanwhile Christian Bale returned for the role of the main character, The Batman. Bale has praised director Christopher Nolan vision and directing of the series as well as the critical reaction to his first performance in the first film Batman Begins as main reasons for his confidence in his participation in the series.
As of August 1, 2008, The Dark Knight has grossed over $363 million in the domestic box office, breaking the previous record of the fastest film to hit $300 million its total worldwide gross stands at $491.9 million.
The Dark Knight is currently highest grossing movie of the year in domestic box office and third worldwide.
The Dark Knight is a 2008 American superhero/crime film co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. Christian Bale reprises the lead role.
Batman's primary conflicts in the film include his fight against his arch-nemesis the Joker (Heath Ledger) and his rivalry with district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) for the affections of assistant D.A. Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
For his conception of the film, Nolan was inspired by the Joker's first two appearances in the comics and Batman: The Long Halloween.
The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago, as well as in several other locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. The director used an IMAX camera to film six major action sequences, including the Joker's first appearance in the film.
Warner Bros. created a viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight, developing promotional websites and trailers highlighting screenshots of Heath Ledger as the Joker.
After Ledger's death in January 2008, however, the studio refocused its promotional campaign.The film was released on July 16, 2008 in Australia, on July 18, 2008 in North America, and on July 24, 2008 in the United Kingdom.
Prior to its box office debut in North America, record numbers of advance tickets were sold for The Dark Knight. The film has broken multiple box office records, and achieved an overall approval rating of 94% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times describes The Dark Knight as a "haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy." He praises the performances, direction, and writing, and says the film "redefine[s] the possibilities of the comic-book movie".
Ebert states that the "key performance" is by Heath Ledger, and ponders whether he will become the first posthumous Academy Award winner since Peter Finch in 1976
David Ansen in Newsweek says the film is "impressive" in discussing the moral dilemma at its heart: the question about whether a vigilante has to abandon his code in order to defeat the villain
Before the release of Batman Begins, screenwriter David S. Goyer wrote a treatment for two sequels which introduced the Joker and Harvey Dent. His original intent was for the Joker to scar Dent during the Joker's trial in the third film, turning Dent into Two-Face
On July 31, 2006, Warner Bros. Pictures officially announced initiation of production for the sequel to Batman Begins titled The Dark Knight; it is the first live-action Batman film without the word "Batman" in its title, which Bale noted as signaling that "this take on Batman of mine and Chris' is very different from any of the others."
Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson, and Rutger Hauer.
The film reboots the Batman film series, telling the origin story of the character and begins with Bruce Wayne's initial fear of bats, the death of his parents, and his journey to becoming Batman.
It draws inspiration from classic comic book storylines such as Batman: The Man Who Falls, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Long Halloween.
After a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Batman on screen following the 1997 critical and commercial failure of Batman & Robin, Nolan and David S. Goyer began work on the film in early 2003 and aimed for a darker and more realistic tone, with humanity and realism being the basis of the film.
The goal was to get the audience to care for both Batman and Bruce Wayne. The film was primarily shot in England and Chicago, and relied on traditional stunts and miniatures — computer-generated imagery was used minimally.
A new Batmobile, called the Tumbler, along with a new, more mobile Batsuit were both created specifically for the film.
Batman Begins was critically and commercially successful. The film opened on June 15, 2005 in the United States and Canada in 3,858 theaters. It grossed US$48 million in its opening weekend, eventually grossing $370 million worldwide. The film received an 84% overall approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
A DVD was released on October 18, 2005, containing featurettes and other bonus materials. Critics noted that fear was a common theme throughout the film, and remarked its darker tone compared to previous Batman films.
A sequel titled The Dark Knight was released in July 2008 and also sees the return of both Nolan and Bale.
James Berardinelli applauded Nolan and Goyer's work creating more understanding into "who [Batman] is and what motivates him", something Berardinelli felt Tim Burton's film lacked; at the same time.
Berardinelli felt the romantic aspect between Bale and Holmes did not work because the actors lacked the chemistry Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder (Superman), or Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man) shared in their respective roles
Comic book scribe and editor Dennis O'Neil stated that he "felt the filmmakers really understood the character they were translating", citing this film as the best of the live-action Batman films
Roger Ebert, who gave mixed reviews to the previous films, wrote this was "the Batman movie I've been waiting for; more correctly, this is the movie I did not realize I was waiting for".
Giving it four out of four stars, he commended the realistic portrayals of the Batman arsenal—the Batsuit, Batcave, Batmobile, and the Batsignal—as well as the focus on "the story and character" with less stress on "high-tech action".
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There are currenly 4 Editions OF Dark Knight DVD Planned for Released In Novemeber.
