Yes it played on about 200 more screens than Spider-Man 3 did on its opening weekend, but at the end of the day the record books show that The Dark Knight is now the all time opening weekend box office record holder. Spider-Man 3 was the record holder at about $151 million, and now The Dark Knight has surpassed that number with a take of $155 million.
Damn it’s nice to see that garbage Spider-Man 3 movie kicked out of top spot!
Looks like most people who predicted that Dark Knight would just inch out the record were spot on. It’s nice to see… you know… an actual GOOD movie at the top of the Box Office record books (at least for opening weekend).
So the question now is… how far will it go? With the pace that new movies come out these days, Dark Knight has no chance of catching Titanic for all time box office records… but it certainly looks poised to take the top spot for the year (I don’t think it’ll have much trouble catching Indiana Jones 4 and then nothing else is coming out this year that has huge Box Office potential).
It’s nice to see Dark Knight beat Spider-Man 3. Now, why’ll I didn’t hate Spidey 3, I didn’t love it. And it was disappointing, so good thing Batman decided to do better.
John. you stated that you didn’t think it would do well at the box office, since it’s not family friendly.
I just read an article about how The Dark Knight was too dark for young children. Now I agree that it is very dark and really young children should probably not see it but when parents take their kids to see movies like this they need to put them into context.
Now last year when Spiderman 3 opened to a huge weekend nobody warned parents about that movie. Watching Tobey Mcquire dance is more tramatizing than anything that appended in TDK.
I saw it Friday 9:30 A.m., what a great way to start the weekend. The scene where Ledger was walking away from the hospital was priceless…twitchy, nervous and just a tad distubing! I did think of Jon’s comments during the last 20-25 minutes…maybe the frentic pace of the film up to that point presented a slight drag but I thought the final scenes were still valid.
The pre-event praise for Heath Ledger was truly justified. I am hopeful for a Oscar nom for this amazing work! We’ll see…
Was it a solid fact that Two-face was deceased???? In the mythology he didn’t die in the first encounter….
Bryan Singer (if assigned with MOS as director..) really has to bring his “game-face” for the next Supes installment. The bar HAS BEEN RAISED!
@Special Reports.
to your question, the answer is all of the above. But the main reason it’s such a great success is that it’s a fantastic film.
Is the Dark Knight a success, because of Ledger’s death? Some people have said that the movie blatantly played on the symbolism of 9-11 with the poster, some say it’s a great movie, some say heath ledger played his best role. What do you think? please give us our opinion
Hazmat,
Oooo… you bring up a good point: Harvey Dent Aka Two Face. I was really upset to see such a great build up of the rise and fall of Harvey Dent, only to have it all taken away in the last part of the film. How awesome would it have been to end the story arc of Harvey Dent in TDK when the Joker destroys the hospital? Leave us hanging on what happened to Dent until the next film (and beleive me, there will be a part 3).
I would have loved to see Two Face come back in part 3 as the villian. All pissed off and insane.
Personally, I don’t know if I want to see anyone else play the Joker in this series after Heath’s haunting performance.
JOHN
im sorry i missed the podcast on friday but the movie came out that day and i went to see it at 8:30pm
lol you didnt like the bending the AK-47 part? that was batmans first apearence i clapped when that happened
SPOILER!!!!!
im pissed 2 face dies though i thought hed stay alive for the potential part 3. do you think there will be a sequel? id like to see one with deathstroke and the riddler and batman NOT hanging out with cops but running away from them
and sinse the joker doesnt die- i think its obvious hell get out of jail, they cant keep him there. if that happens id like to see johny depp play the joker or maybe michael keaton who was SUPPOSED to be the joker in this movie
(SPOILER ALERT)
John,
I loved your TDK podcast! Thank you for taking the time to do one for us.
In describing the things you didn’t like about TDK, you mentioned that you hated the part where Batman bends a gun with his bare hands; this really pissed you off. It would have pissed me off too except that I noticed (and it was a quick shot) of a device in the palm of Batman’s hand. This device, appeared to be the reason why he had the ability to bend the gun.
In going with the fact that there are all of these “man made” devices that help give Batman abilities over his enemies, I totally bought it then.
I was wondering if you noticed that device in the palm of his hand before he bent the gun?
Thanks again for an awesome podcast review of the movie.
-diskjokk
Hey Sahil,
Yes, if you ignore the fact that I’ve been saying for over 2 weeks now that TDK was going to get close to $150 million. Ever since I saw the movie a few weeks ago I’ve been saying over and over again that I changed my prediction and that it would get close to $150
Hey John,
*SPOLIERS*
When did you think the movie should of ended? Was it the scene after the joker gets into the bus after he blows up the hospital?
151 million dollars is the farthest thing from a catastrophie. people sawll this movie and they came back next week- this movie was playing for almost 2 months….people sawll it MULTIPLE times.
venom was smaller but it wasnt anything to bitch about hence sam raimi didnt even WANT venom in the film, and the gay dancing was caused by the suit and it was a 3 minute scene anyways. and yes kristen dunst isnt that good looking but neither is maggie whats her ass from batman or pepper pots from ironman..not to mention liz from hellboy who has only been in movies that play in comedy central.
Spider-man 3 was a CATASTROPHIE
spiderman 3 wasnt that bad! yeah TDK was way better but i dont get why people hated spiderman 3 so much..i heard all the reasons and they all make sense but its not enough to make it the worst movie of the year
its like everyone got together and sayd
“lets all secretly say spiderman 3 was CATASTROPHIC just for the fuck of it”
@ John
Spiderman 3 Theater Counts = 4252
The Dark Knight Theater Counts = 4366
Thats only 114 more theater not almost 200
Hey JOHN
Didnt you predict that Indy 4 would beat TDK? and that people were cray for predicting that TDK would be the #1 movie of the year? I guess you were wrong!
It is a superb movie. This is nice to see that the movie is doing well all over. Undoubtedly it is the best movie of the year. I like Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, both of them are awesome.
So when I go see this thing, should I go an hour away to IMAX or just stick with the theaters? What’s the main difference between seeing it in the theater vs IMAX (yes, I know the IMAX supposedly looks better or something).
Someone help me with a well reasoned explanation of theater vs IMAX here.
Naw I disagree about acting out the phone book, I’ve got better things to do. Ghessh what makes TDK a hit is ALL the players not just Bale.
Bigsampson, you’ve got to be kidding me of you think T4 is going to make over 156 mil. Opening weekend.
If the rumors (about the plot ending) are true the pre-buzz for this film will be negative…
And did anyone see a giant terminator hand scooping up a resistance fighter. Wtf???
BigSampson—
I very much doubt that the new Terminator will even come close to breaking TDKs record. Maybe 60-75Mil, but thats it.
That being said, i am looking forward to it. To paraphrase Randy from American Idol… “Christian Bale could act out the phonebook and it would be great!”
I must say this doesn’t happen very often. But even after all the hype, I was gladly surprised and this movie by far surpassed my expectations. The movie is easily one of the best films I have ever seen. In all honestly, I loved all 3 installments of Spiderman. But The Dark Knight was just perfect!!!
@ Darren – thanks.
I knew it was misspelled & my husband argued that even if it WAS Keyser Soze on the box, then it should have appeared as “Soze, Keyser”. Still, I thought I’d ask – maybe I should go back for another viewing (as if I needed an excuse to see this movie again!)
*aren’t as marketable
Hellboy 2 was great its just the characters are as marketable as Batman or Hancock. The only reason Hancock isn’t have such a drop is because it has a wider audience. Will Smith is way more marketable. Hellboy is made for the fans of the character and for people who love Del Toro IMO. Hancock is made for girls that wanna be giddy over Will Smith and guys, like myself, who saw it to fill up time till Batman was out.
@ Janius,
No, I didn’t notice. Keyzer Soze is misspelled anyway. If there *was* a non-Batman character, I’d think it would be “Chris Shiherlis” who was played by a former Batman, Val Kilmer in “Heat” (1995) – because that film had some influence on The Dark Knight (and why William Fichtner was cast as the Bank Manager in the opening scene)
Just wondering if anyone noticed that one of the file boxes in Harvey Dent’s office (during the scene where he and Gordon have a chat in his office) had the label, “Kaiser, Soszeh” on it. Or was I just seeing things? Anyone heard anything about this?
Darren J Seeley… I agree with your assessment RE: Spiderman 3 and TDK. After the turn to Two-Face I was imagining they would setup the next movie for him. Boy was I wrong. The psychological motivations behind a villain turn have never been done so well as in TDK. My fiancee turned to me ad said “This was awesomely written”.
Hopefully they wait four or five years until they do the next one…Let this one really simmer in our consciousness…This is how to do a comic movie.
:D That’s great news! :D I’m gonna see it this Friday evening (here in Sweden). I’m sooooo looking forward to it. I have always disliked the Joker until I saw Heath’s version of it. Now I at least like the Joker. Once again; it’s tragic that Heath is no longer with us!
i seen it but in my opinion terminator salvation next year will beat this movies records……….i could be wrong but if they infuse what was included in the second terminator they cant miss.
Hey John…
INDEED you are correct, as far as worldwide take for Indy 4 vs. Iron Man… However, like most arogant American Pigs, I was merely looking at the most important number, the American Domestic take…
Ooooh! Question for you John… When we see the “weekend numbers” for any given movie on any given week (aka “Domestic”), is that JUST in the U.S. or is that Canada too??? I know most films get releases simultaneously in both. Do you have any insight?
There was no movie released so far this summer with a more front loaded audience than Hellboy 2. After its first weekend all bets were off.
John,
I think a 70% drop shows something significant. Hancock is in its third week, and only had a 56% drop. Hellboy 2 in 2nd week had a 70% drop. They are both playing to the same audience, but Hellboy dropped much more. This shows that there is something there, maybe audiences aren’t liking it very much.
For those of you that havent seen it on IMAX yet go do it NOW. I’ve never been so giddy about a movie than the 30mins plus shown in IMAX format, it was beyond amazing.
Hey Dragonslayer.
Wrong about what?
Oh, yea! Guess you were wrong John.
This movie is all about seeing it repeadetdly in the theatre. I think that has alot of potential because YOU CAN”T SEE LEDGER AS JOKER AGAIN EVER on the big screen after this. I actually bought a Mamma Mia ticket and snuck into TDK to see it my second time on Friday night(my first veiwing was a 12:01 am friday) I still haven’t seen it in IMAX yet. I am not a comic book film geek at all. But Ledgers joker is soo good, I want to soak it in as much as possible.
YES !!!!!!!!!! i love you joker !!!!!!!!!!!!
Is it just me or does anyone else see TDK kicking X-Files in the ballz next weekend.
I can totally see TDK making 80 or 90 mil next weekend.
I highly doubt X-files will break past 50mil.
The BIG question for the next Batman film, how do we get the seniors to pack the theaters so we can break that Titanic record….. ??
I actually thought the better release date for Hellboy 2 would be better around Halloween 08, since the flick was sandwiched between Hancock, a Pixar pic named Wall-E and The Dark Knight. Not to mention Wanted and Hulk a handful of weeks ago. It’s crowded with comics related /inspired films and animation. So a dropoff of Hellboy against a film like Dark Knight isn’t a total shock.
The big test for Hellboy2 is how far it tumbles in the next few weeks.
****
I’m not going to gloat over the hijacking of Spidey 3’s opening weekend last year. However, a small issue of note has cropped up and I noticed it as well: Spidey 3 set up Brock, and wasted Venom even though it should have held back until Spidey 4. One year later, Dark Knight sets up Harvey Dent and doesn’t waste Two-Face even though the character could have been saved for Brave & The Bold/Batman Detective/Knightfall or what ever they will call the next Batfilm.
*******
That said, Spidey 3 wasn’t horrid, but disappointing.
The Dark Knight was beyond expectations, and ….
and….
Okay, mark me. Mark me on this.. A lot of folks been talking about the late Heath Ledger’s performance and how he should be posthoumously be considered for Golden Globe and/or Oscar contention. I, and others, have said, Aaron Eckhart is also really, really good. I even asked “Katie Who”?
So…here is my proposal. Listen up WB.
“The Dark Knight” -one of the five Best Picture nominees…that’s Globes + Oscars. Start the considerations ASAP.
I just got back home from seeing this and I was blown away. Fucking great movie, man.
So happy it killed Spidey 3 which having some moments was really really disappointing. Just a tragic waste.
Batman will do well and will most likely take the top spot. It is a great movie and deserves the rewards and accolades that comes it’s way!
But It’s really too bad that Hellboy 2 fell so dramatically. Saw the 70% dropoff on Box offie mojo and I the movie deserves so much more. John’s right the box office draw was cannibalized by Batman and leaves you to wonder why the studio set the release date of Hellboy so close to Batman! WTF!!!!?????
In the end I hope Batman gets repeat enough reviewings to break Titanic at the top..because I know I will be seeing it again!!!
John,
yes I know there’s that factor to consider but still I’ve never seen it happen like that before. And also 94% on RT – not far off the equivalent rating on IMDB, now is it? :P
If anyone wanted an indication of where priorities are regarding some film fans, look no further than those conversations that are the equivalent of dick-measuring contests. Seriously; while the objective aspect of BO numbers is fascinating, as it seems to have become the default reference for so many, I fear for the future of film discussion.
It reminds me of counting money-shots. (Pun fully intended.)
Hey Ross,
IMDB’s Top Lists are completely useless and should never be taken seriously. Mostly because people can vote without ever having seen the movie (thousands and thousands of 10/10 votes were cast before the movie even opened) and people have ways of voting numerous times. Makes the whole thing useless.
RT and Metacritic are MUCH more reliable.
John,
did you also see that TDK has taken the top spot on IMDB’s top 250 films of all time?
Hey The Jim Walker,
Indy 4 has beaten Iron Man’s ass severely. If you count world wide box office take:
Iron Man – $566 million
Indy 4 – $742 million
I expect Dark Knight to beat them both… but that’s not a brave prediction since everyone pretty much knows it.
This was one prediction that I nailed. Finally Spidey 3′ ass kicked outright!!!
I LOVE TDK (9.5/10)
Harry Potter will make some bank, but the totals for each film has actually been going down… and only 1 of the films has opened near the 100 million mark.
And Bond looks great, possibly 200 mil + total, but TDK did almost that openign weekend…
So TDK will probably reign supreme…
And MAN i wish Iron man would stay ahead of Indy 4. Iron man deserves it. Sadly, according to the daily box office take, Indy 4 is still catching up and bringing in roughly double… So its only a matter of time. (e.g. — Thursday 7/17 – Indy brought in 282K and Iron Man only 121K)
My Guess for top grossers:
1. The Dark Knight
2. Indy 4
3. Iron Man
4. Harry Potter 6
5. Kung Fu Panda
6. Wall-E
7. Hancock
8. Mummy 3
9. Quantum of Solace (Bond 22)
10. Sex and the City
Re: Hellboy 2
Yeah, in this specific case a 70% drop off isn’t a reflection of how good or bad the film is. It’s a comic book genre film going after basicially the same core audience as Dark Knight. It’s a shame it dropped so much, but it was totally to be expected. Don’t know what they were thinking opening it the week before the Dark Knight.
That’s great news. It really is.
The only sad thing is that poor Hellboy 2’s box-office will be totally killed now. After it’s good but not great opening weekend It didn’t make as much money as everyone was hoping but now it doesn’t even have the slightest chance anymore. At this point I don’t think Hellboy 2 will even make it’s budget back domestically.
This is great news no more Spider-Man 3 on top. I’m really interested to see what TDK makes next week because it has yet to be released here in Ireland or the uk. Also most people I’ve been talking to have seen it 2-3 or more now and are planning on more repeat viewings. When a movie has that repeat watch factor it’s hard to know what it will pull in.
nothing else is coming out this year that has huge Box Office potential?
How about Harry Potter 6 and the new James Bond film?
That’s 80 million more than i expected so i was way of. The next couple of weeks is going to be interesting since X-Files is released on Friday and Mummy the Friday after that,
On a sdenote Hellboy 2 fell a whopping 70% in it’s second week. That’s pretty bad
I wonder how The Mummy 3 will do in box-office.
it’ll never catch titanic cause of the senior crowd. i remember for weeks titanic was packed with 50+ people
i think this was the first comic book movie to be taken 100% seriously. like no campyness whatsoever, and i think that’s a blessing and a curse
still it’s nice to see comic book movies become pop culture touchstones like we’ve been seeing in recent years
my guess is that Dark Knight will obliterate all the movies that are going to be released from now til end of summer. It will beat Shrek 2, and the final gross will be 450 million.
See the thing is, Spider-Man 3 could’ve made more money than it did if it were good, but I saw Dark Knight yesterday and it was terrific. So it’ll probably make huge amounts of money with repeat viewings. I’m going to say 300 domestically?
Good I’m glad it finally took out Spiderman 3’s record, it would be nice if it could take out Titanics but heh theres just no way ever that record would ever be touched especially now with bootlegs and the movie being put out on the internet.
Ah well, I enjoyed watching it yesterday afternoon, will most likely go see it later this week again.