Batman Hits $66.4M Box Office Record

Critics' Raves And Ravenous Fans Alike Help Propel "Dark Knight" Opening To Set 1-Day Record

(CBS/AP)  Batman's joust with the Joker has set another box-office record.

Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, "The Dark Knight" set a one-day box-office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Saturday.

The movie's Friday haul surpassed the previous record of $59.8 million set last year by "Spider-Man 3." "The Dark Knight" might break the opening-weekend record of $151.1 million also held by "Spider-Man 3."

"I think they're in jeopardy," Fellman said of the "Spider-Man 3" record.

"The Dark Knight" began with a record $18.5 million from midnight screenings, topping the previous high of $16.9 million for "Star Wars: Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith."

The opening day grosses for "The Dark Knight" far exceeded the full weekend haul of its predecessor "Batman Begins," which took in $48.7 million in its first three days in 2005.

Reviews were excellent for director Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins," but they were stellar for his "Dark Knight."

"We've really never seen anything like this," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "The death of a fine actor taken in his prime, a legendary performance, and a movie that lives up to all the hype. That all combined to create these record-breaking numbers."

Buzz had been high for the Batman sequel well before Ledger died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose in January. Trailers last fall revealing Ledger's demented Joker, with his crooked-clown makeup, turned up the heat even more.

His death and the critical acclaim over his performance that built from advance screenings left fans in a frenzy for the film.

"It's a combination of things. Certainly, that's a great part of it, but I think this movie's gross was partly because of the reviews it received and the incredible buzz and word of mouth that preceded it with our early screenings," Fellman said. "And the success and quality of the last one, 'Batman Begins,' delivered by Chris Nolan just set the tone for the opening of this movie."

But some critics caution that, despite the flick's PG-13 rating, it's too dark for young kids, CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller pointed out on The Early Show Saturday.

No matter - movie-goers coming out of one Manhattan theater raved to Miller about "The Dark Knight," with many saying they fully intend to see it again, and again, and again!

And, on The Early Show Saturday, Los Angeles Times columnist Tom O'Neil called "The Dark Knight" a "great thrill ride," and remarked, "It's one of the most perfect Batmans."

He said Ledger's performance resulted in "one of the creepiest villains we're ever seen," and "because he died tragically, it takes it to a whole, other eerie level."

"The Dark Knight" reunites Christian Bale as Batman, the vigilante crime-fighter tormented by personal tragedy, and co-stars Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Maggie Gyllenhaal also stars.

The film spins an epic crime duel as Ledger's Joker orchestrates a reign of terror on the city of Gotham aimed to spread chaos and break down the restraint that keeps Batman on the right side of the law.

While critics are taking the film seriously enough to suggest Ledger could be in line for an Academy Award nomination, the action-packed movie also delivers as pure summer-movie escapism.

"If you're worried about mortgage payments and gas prices, when you're sitting in 'The Dark Knight' for two and a half hours, you're not thinking about any of that stuff," Dergarabedian said.

[avigil2]

THE DARK KNIGHT is truly one of the best movies of the summer and of this year, but right behind WALL-E. That movie already rings "classic".

[cfin5]

Now we''ll have to put up with BATDORKS running around all summer in town,.....bunch of jokers alright. They should have made a movie (probably will) about THOR. At lest it would be interesting.

[whiskyrocker]

corey4444
---------
Why can''t they make a 2 hour movie anymore? I felt the same way. If the movie was cut by 45 minutes I would have enjoyed it much more.

[whiskyrocker]

$7=1.5 gallons of gasoline

[cyberus-2009]

----
I just saw the movie this afternoon. I found it hard to follow at times but I think Heath Ledger did a WONDERFUL portrayal of the Joker, with all due respect to Jack Nicholson. The fact that he was infinitely better than Cesar Romero in the 1960s TV series goes without saying LOL

Posted by pjh822
----
You would not have be able to show 30 secs of this Joker on TV on the 60s even at 10pm, so IMO its an unfair comparison

[whiskyrocker]

Wholy jerkin'' the joker batman!

[radman5000]

Cant wait for the sequal" Brokeback Batman and the Dark Knight"

[pjh822]

I just saw the movie this afternoon. I found it hard to follow at times but I think Heath Ledger did a WONDERFUL portrayal of the Joker, with all due respect to Jack Nicholson. The fact that he was infinitely better than Cesar Romero in the 1960s TV series goes without saying LOL

[pjh822]

I just saw the movie this afternoon. I found it hard to follow at times but I think Heath Ledger did a WONDERFUL portrayal of the Joker, with all due respect to Jack Nicholson. The fact that he was infinitely better than Cesar Romero in the 1960s TV series goes without saying LOL

[whiskyrocker]

The movie sucked the royal one.

[dowell100]

Heath Ledger? No. He was doomed with the Brokeback Mtn curse. That is his horrible legacy that caused his destruction and is what people will remember, not this film.

[sinibaldi1]

Facing the sea...

A delicate and
soft wind is
blowing near an
empty space,
while the curtain
covers a silky
notepaper describing
a picture and the
love for the youth;
I call you my
darkness, I wait
for a dream......

Francesco Sinibaldi

http://forums.liverpoolecho.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=40213

[caldwellptr]

$7 bucks for a movie? Must not be in Gotham.

[maggg1]

you guys read waaaaay to much into this. I is a summer movie. And I''ll tell you for $7 bucks to escape from this economy and the heat is a bargain for 2 hours of quiet bliss. THAT is why the numbers are so high.

[hypnotoad72]

Wow. Halloween is like 3 months away and the dress-up wanking fools still find reasons to crawl out early.

Along with big explosions, computer effects (I''ll just play Nintendo, thanks anyway), and digging up old material to re-use, non-veiled topical issues probably make up the plot too because the writers can''t think of anything more original, or the suits think such namby pamby fearmongering makes money.

I shouldn''t say that because I''ve not seen it, but most ''entertainment'' these days all seem to exhibit all of the above.

[komoncents]

Our country is at war. People are being slaughtered on both sides. And folks spend 60 million dollars to watch a fantasy production.

Are you not entertained?

[helloall34]

drivelphobe, you are right about the need to adjust for inflation. What you said made me look a little... There are several places you can find the biggest box office sales adjusted for inflation, but this one is pretty good: http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/mostpopularmovies.html

so is this:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

Though hollywood would like us to believe otherwise, people don''t go to the movies as much as they use to.

[dan_shields-2009]

this movie rocked! i wrote a review on Yahoo Movies, Ledger rocked as The Joker but idk if i would compare him with Nicholson since they each portrayed a different version of the character. I recommend everyone see it, i got 3 people at work to go see it and at first they didnt want to but after they said they loved it and wanted to see it again

[brianbwb-2009]

Comparing Ledger to Nicholson is always a non starter. Nicholson set the mold for the villians in the Batman movies making a greater impact than the star-hero. It became expected after Jack''s treatment, and I believe that Ledger was given the space to do it his way, largely because Jack made it almost mandatory to do so.

Not taking anything away from Ledger''s fine performance, but Jack Nicholson is clearly America''s finest living character actor, whose body of work, from "Little Shop of Horrors" to "Cuckoo''s Nest" to "the Shining", to "the Witches of Eastwick", etc., is probably the envy of every actor to ever step in front of a camera.

[excoachken]

People always seem fascinated with stories of a dead guy who comes back to life.