Ladies and gentlemen, beloved movie fans, we have a new winner. By earning $155.34 million, “The Dark Knight” set a new box office record.

The figure was announced by Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros, the studio that released the "Batman Begins" sequel.

That surpassed the previous record holder, 2007's "Spider-Man 3, which earned $151.1 million during its first weekend.
The previous Batman movies released by the same studio did not average more than $47 million in their debut weekends. The movie had a budget of $185 million to make, leaving aside the money spent for publicity.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the movie outshines its predecessor, bringing new dimensions to the story, with a carefully detailed script and the use of IMAX technology. The rush induced by the huge action scenes, combined with all the gadgets and the excellent performances of the movie’s two main actors, will not leave anyone dissatisfied.

The movie also introduces District Attorney Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart, who starts off as a day-time crime fighter, heating things up with the wrong-doers of Gotham City. He will later accidentally transform into the revenge-minded Two-Face. Besides him, there are also present the knight’s police force contact Jim Gordon, played by Gary Oldman, Wayne’s faithful servant Alfred played by Michael Cane, Wayne Industries technical manager Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Maggie Gyllenhaal taking Katie Holmes’s place as Rachel Dawes.

The symbolism of the movie relates to the fragile line between good and evil which can easily lead to a radical direction change.

Heath Ledger’s performance has been praised by many with good reason, as he managed to deliver one of the best villain portrayals ever, which has even led to rumors about an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

At the movie’s premiere, that took place at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square, the film’s lead actor, Christian Bale talked to the press, saying that Heath Ledger is the best thing about the film and also that "He steals the movie."

Ledger’s performance manages to even surpass Jack Nicholson’s from the 1989 Batman, delivering a rare display of acting skills and building his character in a unique manner.

The movie was greatly appreciated by the critics and that started rumors about a posthumous Oscar nomination for Heath Ledger.

"I don't know how high it can go, but it's high," says Dan Fellman "It's rare you see a movie hit on all cylinders, with critics and the public, like this."

It remains to be seen if “The Dark Knight” will manage to surpass “Iron Man”, which so far is the best movie of the year, with $314 million.

Meryl Streep’s “Mamma Mia” ranked second in this weekend box office, with $27,605,000, while “Hancock” landed on the third place after earning another $14 million.

“Journey to the Center of the Earth” fell one place from last week, but the last weekend number one “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” ranked only fifth, with only $10,038,000.

“Space Chimps”, which debuted this weekend, achieved only the seventh place with $7,350,000, behind Pixar’s “Wall-E”.