LOS ANGELES (AP) Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood's box office superheroes.

"The Dark Knight" took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released the "Batman Begins" sequel.

That topped Hollywood's previous best of $151.1 million, set by "Spider-Man 3" in May 2007.

"We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did," Fellman said. The movie should shoot past the $200 million mark by the end of the week, he said.

Factoring in higher admission prices, however, "Spider-Man 3" may have sold slightly more tickets than "The Dark Knight."

At 2007's average price of $6.88, "Spider-Man 3" sold 21.96 million tickets over opening weekend. Box office tracker Media By Numbers estimates today's average movie prices at $7.08, which means "The Dark Knight" would have sold 21.94 million tickets.

The movie's release was preceded by months of buzz and speculation over the performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, Batman's nemesis. Ledger, who died in January from an accidental prescription-drug overdose, played the Joker as a demonic presence, his performance prompting predictions that the role might earn him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.

"The Dark Knight," which cost $185 million to make, also broke the "Spider-Man 3" record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. "Spider-Man 3" opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.

On opening day Friday, "The Dark Knight" also took in more money than previously counted, Fellman said. The film pulled in a record $67.85 million, up nearly $1.5 million from the studio's estimates a day earlier.

The previous opening-day record also had been held by "Spider-Man 3" with $59.8 million.
Weekend Box Office Estimates (U.S.)
This Wk Last Wk Title Dist. Weekend Gross Cumulative
Gross Rlse
Wks # of
Theaters
1 - The Dark Knight Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $155,340,000 $155,340,000 1 4366
2 - Mamma Mia! Universal Pictures Distribution $27,605,000 $27,605,000 1 2976
3 2 Hancock Sony Pictures Releasing $14,000,000 $191,504,000 3 3776
4 3 Journey to the Center of the Earth New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $11,910,000 $43,074,000 2 2830
5 1 Hellboy II: The Golden Army Universal Pictures Distribution $10,038,000 $56,447,000 2 3212
6 4 WALL-E Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $9,813,000 $182,476,000 4 3310
7 - Space Chimps 20th Century Fox Distribution $7,350,000 $7,350,000 1 2511
8 5 Wanted Universal Pictures Distribution $5,097,000 $123,347,000 4 2433
9 6 Get Smart Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $4,085,000 $119,569,000 5 2135
10 8 Kung Fu Panda Paramount Pictures $1,750,000 $206,506,000 7 1505
11 7 Meet Dave 20th Century Fox Distribution $1,635,000 $9,374,000 2 3011
12 11 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Paramount Pictures $970,000 $312,584,000 9 757

The Dark Knight's Final Tally? $158.4 Million!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety July 21, 2008


On Sunday, Warner Bros. Pictures estimated that The Dark Knight had earned $155.3 million its opening weekend. Turns out, that was low! The final figures show that Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins follow-up took in a record-breaking $158.4 million over the Friday-to-Sunday frame, easily beating the $151.1 million opening of Spider-Man 3 in May 2007.

One of the big reasons for the lower estimate was that the studio expected the movie to do about $39.4 million on Sunday but in actuality it received $43.6 million, again beating Spider-Man 3's previous record of $39.9 million for the day.

The film earned a record-breaking $67.8 million on Friday alone. Of that, $18.5 million came from midnight shows, besting the previous midnight record set by Fox's 2005 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which grossed $16.9 million from 3,663 theaters.

It also set the record for an IMAX opener, earning $6.2 million from 94 IMAX theaters.

The studio estimates that The Dark Knight, which opened in a record 4,366 theaters, could gross as much as $220 million in its first week. That's more than the entire domestic gross of Nolan's Batman Begins, which earned $205 million domestically and $166 million overseas.

The big opening allowed the box office to take in a record $250 million in ticket sales total. The previous weekend record was $218.4 million, set in July 2007 when Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opened to $135.6 million.

The Dark Knight Crushes $200 Million Record
Source: Media by Numbers July 23, 2008


Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark Knight broke another record on Tuesday becoming the fastest ever to cross the $200 million mark in five days! The previous record of eight days was held by three films - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Spider-Man 2 and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins follow-up added $20.87 million on Tuesday to push its massive total to $203.8 million. That puts it at #84 already on the all-time domestic blockbuster list after just five days.

Right now, the only number we have for international markets is $41.3 million but that will start going up significantly as the movie is opening in many countries Thursday and Friday as well as into August.

So let's recap - widest release (4,366 theaters), biggest midnight opening ($18.5M), biggest opening weekend ($158.4M), biggest July opener ($158.4M), biggest PG-13 rated opening ($158.4M), biggest single day ($67.2M), biggest opening day ($67.2M), biggest Friday ($67.2M), biggest Sunday ($43.6M), biggest IMAX opening ($6.3M) and fastest to $200M in five days ($203.8M).