I could go on and on about The Dark Knight, but I probably don’t need to because according to the numbers from this past weekend everyone and their mother has already seen the film. It is no surprise that The Dark Knight out grossed previous record holder Spider-Man 3 to claim the title of highest grossing opening weekend ever with a tally of $158.4 million. (link) The Dark Knight also claimed three other impressive records, “including biggest single-day haul ($66.4 million), biggest midnight screening ($18.5 million) and best debut in IMAX ($6.4 million).” (link) It was also the centerpiece to the biggest three-day weekend over all box office ever, with a record industry intake of $258 million. (link)
I am really interested in seeing if The Dark Knight is able to build upon this impressive opening weekend. With the amazing buzz it has garnered already, it should hopefully make a strong push to some huge domestic and international numbers. I think its dark tone does hurt it some, and I will be interested in seeing how the movie’s audience broke down by age. If parents ended up being ok with their children seeing the movie then the sky is the limit for its eventual final numbers. But, it will be really hard to live up to its huge opening weekend numbers without the under 13 demographic.
Aly and I were debating all weekend the impact Ledger’s death had on the movie, but both of us agreed on how amazing his performance of the Joker truly was. The movie was great, but it was his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime that really put it over the top. To be honest I didn’t love the ending. But with a third installment in the Batman franchise all but guaranteed, I guess that’s the type of ending we had to have to leave the door open for Batman’s return to the silver screen few years down the road. The Dark Knight might just be my favorite movie in recent memory. I think I am going to have to see it again this weekend to truly appreciate all of the Joker’s little nuances. If this is to be Ledger’s final performance, oh what a performance it was!