Will "Dark Knight" Be Biggest Draw, Ever?

(CBS/ AP)  Ever since its debut four weeks ago, "Batman -- The Dark Knight" has ruled the box office roost.

It's already the third-highest grossing movie ever, behind "Star Wars" and "Titanic."

Will the Batman sequel ever overtake those two blockbusters?

On The Early Show Monday, Media By Numbers president Paul Dergarabedian sized up its prospects.

"Titanic" earned $600.8 million domestically a decade ago. "It took several months to get there, but did it," Dergarabedian observed. "That has been a record that has stood the test of time. (For) ten years, it's held onto that record."

"Dark Knight" has been taking no prisoners, he pointed out, "knocking off every other record: fastest sprint to 200 million, 300 million, 400 million in just 24 days.

"This film is now up to $441.5 million. Probably, by the end of the week, it'll beat 'Star Wars,' which is at 461, to become the second-highest grossing movie all-time -- in less than a month. That's really amazing.

"Will it beat 'Titanic?' I don't think so. I think it'll ultimately be at somewhere around $520 million domestically. (That's) still amazing, and to do it this fast, I've never seen anything like it."

However, experts note that the numbers reflect today's higher admission prices, and "The Dark Knight" doesn't appear to be on course to approach "Star Wars" or "Titanic" in terms of actual number of tickets sold. Taking inflation into account, "The Dark Knight" would need to pull in about $900 million to match the number of tickets sold for "Titanic" and about $1.2 billion to equal "Star Wars."

What's behind the success of "The Dark Knight," beyond it being, simply put, a good movie?

People seeing it more than once is "a big part of it," Dergarabedian said. "The repeat business. And it's become a cultural phenomenon. That made 'Titanic' such a huge hit back in 1997 and '98 when it was playing for all those months. And Dark Knight, with (the late) Heath Ledger's performance, it's kind of a legendary performance, it's shrouded in mystique, and that is really getting people talking, and they're going back to see it over and over again to relive that performance by Heath Ledger."

"Dark Knight" is "transcending" its genre, Dergarabedian says: "The comic book genre is not for everyone, or superhero movies. But this movie is transcending the genre. It's a great crime epic. So, I'm encouraging people who aren't really into this kind of movie to go out and see it because it's so great. Although, by this point probably everyone's seen its, it seems like."

Studio execs' revised expectations seem to fall in line with Dergarabedian's.

"The Dark Knight" has far outdone initial projections. Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., says he would've been happy if the movie simply exceeded the $205 million domestic total of its predecessor, "Batman Begins." But it should top out at $510 million to $520 million, Fellman says.

[avigil2]

Tips for enjoying first-run movies:
1 - go to matinee shows (they''re cheaper)
2 - go to the very first show of the day (AMC has a great promotion where movies are $5 or $6)
3 - skip the pop and popcorn (you''re too fat anyway)
4 - buy discounted movie tickets from your company (they''re much cheaper than matinee prices)
5 - stick to bargain theaters (movies will always end up there anyway after a couple months of release)
6 - enjoy Netflix movies in the privacy of your own home (but don''t forget the surround sound and big screen, the way most movies should be seen)
7 - save "event" movies for the big screen only (which include most summer blockbusters)

Now, onto the article. THE DARK KNIGHT is definitely one of the best movies I''ve seen all year, but I still can''t stop talking about the masterpiece that is WALL-E. Those are my two favorites so far for 2008.

[oneworldusa]

We don''t go to the theatres because it''s too expensive. $9-$10 for tickets and if you''d like a popcorn and drink, another $10. Sure, you can skip the popcorn and drink, but we go so infrequently that we like to enjoy the whole experience, but not at these theatres where during your movie you have to hear sound effects from the adjoining sardine can.

However, we have a classic movie house in town that runs movies on a B schedule. Tickets are $2, soda and popcorn, $5. We go there instead. We can wait. For the cost of one movie ticket with all the crowds and unnecessary hype, we can do it all and forego the sound effects of any other movies next door.

[oneworldusa]

Posted by toldyouso12 at 04:46 PM : Aug 11, 2008

-I think you might be talking about the Japanese market being at 18k, but certainly not the US in the mid-90''s.

Yes, what short term memories we have, mate!

[reveuse1]

"Toldyouso12" is an absolute moron.

LOTR: Return of the King- $377,027,325 ($435,690,000 adjusted)
Harry Potter: Sorcerer''s Stone- $317,575,550 ($395,863,900 adjusted)

Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

Dark Knight beats both of those, even when you adjust their box office grosses to reflect inflation.

I love how people make up random statistics on internet message boards! It''s like having a swordfight with balloon animals--so easy to burst.

[toldyouso12]

I thought Harry Potter grossed over 900 million and the Lord of the rings trilogy was not far behind that? Is this like the stock market, where, when we describe where the market stands and proclaim it as an all time high (when it was around 12K) we conveniently forget that in the mid 1990s, the stock market was over 18K? What a lying world we live in--with short term memories to boot.