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'Dark Knight' helps Hollywood to best weekend ever

21 July 2008 14:33 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 13 comments

The blockbuster smash Dark Knight has broken another record this weekend and led Hollywood to its strongest weekend in the history of cinema.

After breaking the records for most sales in a single showing and best opening day, the Batman sequel has also shattered the record for best opening weekend, beating out Spider-Man 3's record that was set last year.

For the weekend, the movie brought in $158.4 million USD, beating out the previous record of $151.1 million. The record breaking pace also helped lead Box Office sales to their largest weekend ever, helping to bridge the gap brought by a drop in overall viewers.

"We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. He expects the movie to hit $200 million by Friday, its first week in theaters.

For total weekend revenue, Hollywood shattered the previous record of $218.4 million by bringing in $253 million for the top 12 movies.

It is also important to note however that Spider-Man 3 could have possibly sold more tickets then Dark Knight did but ticket prices have risen and the demand for DK in expensive IMAX showings has been unprecedented.

Adding in the $40 million USD brought in from the few overseas openings, the movie has already surpassed its production budget of $180 million and will soon become all profit for the production and distribution companies.

Well deserved 'Dark Knight'.

Permalink to this article

Warner celebrates 85th anniversary with HD VOD line-up (16 August 2008)

Update: Activision responds to Warner's music game royalties statement (15 August 2008)

Sony signs distribution deal with Rocketboom (6 August 2008)

Warner execs claim anti-piracy measures behind "The Dark Knight's" success (28 July 2008)

'The Dark Knight' spurs increase in DVD revenue leading up to premiere (25 July 2008)

'Dark Knight' set to shatter Box Office records (19 July 2008)

Dark Knight already looks like a blockbuster based on pre-sales (15 July 2008)

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Discuss this article!
FatalAD (Junior Member) 21 July 2008 15:24
I saw the movie Thursday at 1201 a.m. I wasn't a huge Heath Ledger fan before the movie but after watching his performance, which could be the best all time, he won me over. To make a long story short there's a lot of movies that get hyped up and aren't that good, but batman dark knight is noting short of a masterpiece and deserves all the hype. [ + quote]
ccwdude (Junior Member) 21 July 2008 23:45
Yeah, What he Said /\ [ + quote]
jarrod40 (Member) 22 July 2008 0:02
doesn't come out in NewZealand till 24th.......stupid retards could have made the record even bigger BUT NO [ + quote]
Blackjax (Member) 22 July 2008 3:30
^^^^^^^^^^ What?! You expected more from the studio execs? Even the greedy aren't always the brightest! About 1-2 times a year movie studios get my money, usually for matinee. This time I did pay full price and was, for once, pleasantly surprised. The movie is nothing short of fantastic. Ledger does steal the show and plays the Joker right, dark and maniacal! Make sure to take care of all "business" before going in. Potty, popcorn so on and so forth as you don't want to miss anything as the movie goes at a good pace. For those with kids DO NOT take them it's not a movie for the kiddies. The joker as well as some scenes with two face will really frighten some small children! **edited for spelling [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22 July 2008 3:33**
7thsinger (AfterDawn Addict) 22 July 2008 8:49
I posted several times in different places that i was going to wait a week or two for the hype to die down. I couldn't. :) Great movie, worth seeing. And i'm in agreement with Blackjax...don't bring the kiddies. My six year old kept hiding his face when Two Face was on the screen. [ + quote]
Molinari (Newbie) 22 July 2008 9:30
Just goes to show you the devastating impact of "piracy" on the industry.... [ + quote]
xyqo (Senior Member) 22 July 2008 12:39
*Originally posted by Molinari:* Just goes to show you the devastating impact of "piracy" on the industry.... Yeah really devastating. These studio execs don't get it - make good films and people will pay to see them. Simple isn't it. If you make a movie that's total crap you won't make any money stop blaming the internet and everything on it. Just make awesome movies like this one. [ + quote]
gnovak1 (Junior Member) 22 July 2008 13:37
Not surprising based on all the buzz this is generating. I'll see it when the hype goes down but i can't wait. I think most people are seeing this for the Joker. I read where Christian Bale was just arrested. Bad Batman !!! [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22 July 2008 13:38
goodswipe (Inactive) 22 July 2008 13:48
*Originally posted by gnovak1:* Not surprising based on all the buzz this is generating. I'll see it when the hype goes down but i can't wait. I think most people are seeing this for the Joker. I read where Christian Bale was just arrested. Bad Batman !!! yup.. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/22/bale_arrested/ "hey locoeng i need your help ive been sign up to ad since 2004 or 05 but i really havent posted so im still a newbie could you do anything and move my rank up ill be great if you could make me a senoir member. Because ive probably read every post since i joined." - embo22000 [ + quote]
xSModder (Junior Member) 22 July 2008 14:15
not like it made a huge difference, but I didn't help those figures any movie was good though ;) [ + quote]
ugc (Member) 22 July 2008 20:51
*Originally posted by Molinari:* Just goes to show you the devastating impact of "piracy" on the industry.... yep! This is proof -> if you make a movie worth seeing, people will see it. Case closed MPAA! [ + quote]
Pop_Smith (Senior Member) 24 July 2008 3:12
*Originally posted by ugc:* *Originally posted by Molinari:* Just goes to show you the devastating impact of "piracy" on the industry.... yep! This is proof -> if you make a movie worth seeing, people will see it. Case closed MPAA! True but knowing the MPAA if piracy rates decline for this year they will say "It was all due to us fighting piracy at the theaters with our posters as well as the take down of bittorrent and other piracy-associated sites". They will probably never, ever own up to saying "The piracy rates dropped because a great movie, deserving of its hype, was released and people paid to see it rather than watch a pirated copy". Peace [ + quote]
FredBun (Senior Member) 2 August 2008 13:44
ditto, popsmith [ + quote]