The Dark Knight is clearly Hollywood’s most luminous hero –
yes, we are all out of metaphors, oxymora and superlatives for this film that
has wooed critics, fascinated fans and rewritten box office history.
The latest installment in the Batman franchise, starring
Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader and the late Heath Ledger as his nemesis,
the chillingly creepy Joker, has reached new heights of movie industry glory.
The film has been breaking record after record in
consecutive new “Bests.” Best
three-day opening, Top-Grossing
overall box office weekend, Fastest
movie to reach the $200 million mark and the list goes on.
Released on July 18, it took a mere 10 days for “The Dark
Knight” to smash another target this weekend: surpassing the $300 million mark.
With such speed and determination, “The Dark Knight” seems to have taken on a
life of its own and who knows what record it could break next?
Analysts are already looking in dismay at benchmarks ahead
for the film to exceed.
The movie earned another $75.6 million in ticket sales in
the Friday through Sunday period, bringing its North American box-office total
to $314,245,000, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman told the
Associated Press.
This marks another “Best” for the action flick: best
second-weekend gross in recent Hollywood
history.
“Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man’s Chest,” had set the previous record in 2006, of reaching $300
million in 16 days. “Dead Man’s Chest” also lost other titles to “The Dark
Knight,” including fastest trek to $200 million, with eight days, and helping
shape the top-grossing overall box office weekend, with $218 million.
“The Dark Knight” left such figures behind it, in the dust,
by reaching the $200 million touchstone in five short days and by contributing
to the creation of a new top-grossing overall box office weekend, with $253
million.
Fellman optimistically told the AP that “The Dark Knight”
could well reach the $400 million mark in anther 18 days, which would break
another record, this time set by “Shrek 2” in 2004, when it raked in that sum
in 43 days.
As if we were not impressed enough already, Paul
Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, has an even more grandiose
perspective on things to come, reports Bloomberg.com, considering it likely for
“The Dark Knight” to surpass “Titanic,” which has remained from its release in
1997 until now the highest-grossing film in U.S. history, with more than $600
million domestically.
The film also received layer upon layer of a certain kind of
aura, given its initial tantalizing promotion, followed by star Heath Ledger’s unfortunate
passing away in January, among reports that his portrayal of the villainous
Joker is out of this world.
Film critics have meanwhile confirmed that this, Heath
Ledger’s last completed role, is a true measure of his talent and craft and
there are even expectations for him to receive an Academy Award nomination.
The film’s aura was inadvertently strengthened last week,
when star Christian Bale was arrested in London
following a family argument which ended with his mother and sister alleging
assault. The actor has meanwhile been exonerated by authorities and is due back
in London in
September.
Other releases fared significantly worse at the North
American box office this weekend, but then again, there was no comparing to the
success of “The Dark Knight.”
Zany comedy “Step Brothers,” starring Will Ferrell and John
C. Reilly, took in an estimated $30 million. Singing-dancing Meryl Streep,
joined by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård, helped “Mamma
Mia!” take in another $17.9 million, while “The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” reuniting director
Chris Carter and stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, took in
a modest $10.2 million.
