The Dark Knight

[BobtheCkroach]

Ok,Ok, I haven't seen this yet. I have IMAX tickets for 8:45 EST tonight. I just wanted to say something.

Not using spoiler tags is always deplorable, but I understand that people do it sometimes. Accidents happen. That said, if anyone spoils anything from this movie in clear text, I'm gonna gut you like a pig :) Just wanted to make sure we cleared that up ;)

Joking, of course, I wouldn't hurt any of you folks, but please - please don't spoil this. My inner child begs you not too. My giddiness is through the roof (i'm literally sitting here, bouncing in anticipation) and I just don't want this spoiled for me :)

Oh, and you can count on a review from me tonight, if I can. I'm in the process of moving and the new place doesn't have internet hooked up yet, so it all depends on if I can grab up a neighbor's wifi :devil:

[Nitro]

Imax here in the city is sold out for like 3 weeks now. It has a 9.7 on IMDB already which is ****ing nuts. I honestly think it will make over $150 million opening weekend and overall, make more money than Shrek 2 made, putting it in the top 5 of al ltime

[Asian Invasian]

This movie was sick. I wont spoil it for you but its very surprising.

[Pathos]

Immense, visceral and gritty, there's really only one word that does this film justice: Epic.

I've seen it twice now and i still can't clear my head. What shocked me a little is how DIFFERENT this is to the temperament of the first film; it truly NEEDED to be so, but i am astounded that a Hollywood production of this magnitude could identify this and flow and adapt with such clarity of vision; this Darkest of Knights is truly in no way a rehash. Where the first was an intimate animal, methodical in its approach, this beast is grandiose and boldly operatic. The narrative here is the complete and utter, total fulfillment of the path strewn and promise shown in Batman Begins.

I pity the younger kids that see this. Most are only going to see the cool toys, gadgets, action and costumes. I cannot emphasize enough how superficial all that is to the layers this thing will slowly, delightfully, horrifically, peel before you. This truly transcends the "comic book movie" tag and sweeps itself grandly up into the "great fu#%ing FILM" shelf. Right at the top there next to the best of anything else you'll see this year. Perhaps even out of reach of those.

Why is Heath Ledger listed in the credits? Where was he? Heath Ledger is not in this film. It is only the Joker, the Joker as you've simply never seen him onscreen, the way he was always MEANT TO BE. The way few can write him, even in comics or graphic novels. Finally we get to see just how and WHY this skinny, scarred little guy in makeup, above any other man alive, can be and is Batman's, and by extension Gotham's, irrefutable number one true nemesis, forever and all time feared. To label the Joker simply "crazy" is a naive disservice. Utterly disturbing, he is a completely unpredictable force of nature who through his brilliant dementia is every bit as resourceful and powerful as our caped crusader. This is not a veneration, as above all else, this Joker is frickin' scary! When he laughs, you tremble and pee.

And pitted against him is the return of the strongest realisation of the Batman character ever put to screen.

Let me belatedly qualify. It's not perfect, no film is or can be. I have both fanboy and film-critical gripes (which i'll no doubt talk about in spoilerish detail at some calmer point), but truly, at the end of the day it just doesn't get served up much better than this. Films like these are one a decade.

The hell you still reading this for? This is not a wait-for-rental, small-screen 50 inch experience, folks. Get your ass into that cinemaplex, strap yourself down and keep the oxygen handy...

....you'll need it when you see the origin of the Bat-pod - i'm still geeking!

[dons pillow-cowl and smacks up nearest clown dolly]

[merkwannabe]

GARSH.

Even though I can't help but annoyingly hear Flavor Flave yell at me "don't believe the hype," I feel obligated to dress like batman and start screaming in the streets for the joker to find me. Yes, yes some ironic twist of character roles it will be. I haven't even seen the movie. I'm basing this urge off of the preview, the "hype," and my dark imagination. hehehh

[BobtheCkroach]

Everything I wanted, and so much more.

Ledger lived up to the billing 200%, and is absolutely stunning.

I had but 1 gripe with the movie, but I can get over my personal disagreements in favor of how awesome this movie was i was PISSED that two-face died! I wanted to see a full-blown movie with him in it - Aaron Eckhart is awesome, and two-face is personally my favorite bat-villian

The first time I heard that this movie transcended being just a "superhero movie" and became a full-fledged "regular, dramatic movie", I figured that was hype. When I heard Roeper say that the movie could honestly get a best picture nod, I laughed openly. Not anymore.

[JIMINATOR]

excellent movie, very enjoyable. I was somewhat expecting a stupid adaptation, glad to see that was not the case.

[Bingo]

Yep. I saw it today as well. Holy crap.

Heath did live up to the hype - acting wise. What was great was not just his acting, but that the "production" of creating this Joker was up to it as well. I loved how the makeup looked - I loved how it changed here and there. It totally worked to crank up the disjointed, crazy feel.

You really did get the feel of a hero/nemesis thing unlike any other movie I can think of.

All in all, an excellent movie.

Not for the kiddies!

B

[Nitro]

it's #1 on IMDB!!! i think im in heaven. take that godfather

[Pathos]

Looks like our dark friend has opened rather well. These are from Joblo (http://www.joblo.com/weekend-box-office) and Latino Review (http://www.latinoreview.com/news/the-dark-knight-sets-record-5036) respectively:



A round of applause for TDK!

Well, nobody can say that we didn't see this coming, but in all honestly, I didn't think THE DARK KNIGHT had the kind of "general appeal" that would smash all-time box-office records, but I was wrong as hell, as TDK opened with $155M in its first three days of release, besting SPIDER-MAN 3's previous record of $151M (see all-time list of biggest opening HERE (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/weekends/)). Just as a reminder, 2005's BATMAN BEGINS only opened with $48M and went on to gross $205M, which is probably what TDK will have made by next weekend!

The buzz, pre-ticket sales and early reviews of the film had all been extremely positive, leading to a weekend opening much like a perfect storm. Not to mention that the film also represented late actor Heath Ledger biggest screen role to date, which many agree will be nominated for an Oscar at the end of the year. Others are debating whether or not the film itself should also earn a 'Best Picture' nomination for the filmmakers, but I guess only time will tell us that. The one thing that is for sure is that fanboys were not disappointed in the film, as TDK has already surpassed THE GODFATHER as the #1 rated film on the IMDB.



Studio distribution chief Dan Fellman says "The Dark Knight" 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.

And thank god for that. Spider-Dud 3 was the deal-breaking Batman & Robin of the spidey franchise. Days like this the entire world briefly makes sense.

[He Is Legend]

Lets put a smillllle on that face !

I loved this god damn movie

[EXEcution]

I think that the strongest aspects of the film were the pacing and the underlying themes. It seemed like every character was an archetype of sorts. Batman represents order while the Joker represents and embodies chaos. The two extremes were constantly at odds during the entire film and it made for a very well balanced story.

Pathos review sums it up quite nicely. This movie significantly differs from Batman Begins so much that I was somewhat confused after I saw it and didn't really know if I saw the movie I was expecting to see or not. I would definitely see this again, preferably in IMAX.

BTW If anyone is still itching for more Batman I would recommend checking out Batman Gotham Knight on DVD. It's very well animated and incredibly dark and brooding. The loosely connected compilation of animated shorts focuses on Batman's psyche and how others perceive him.

[Nitro]

To be honest, I feel the Joker was the greater anti-hero in this film than Batman was and I think that is amazing.

[Aries]

Immense, visceral and gritty, there's really only one word that does this film justice: Epic.

I've seen it twice now and i still can't clear my head. What shocked me a little is how DIFFERENT this is to the temperament of the first film; it truly NEEDED to be so, but i am astounded that a Hollywood production of this magnitude could identify this and flow and adapt with such clarity of vision; this Darkest of Knights is truly in no way a rehash. Where the first was an intimate animal, methodical in its approach, this beast is grandiose and boldly operatic. The narrative here is the complete and utter, total fulfillment of the path strewn and promise shown in Batman Begins.

I pity the younger kids that see this. Most are only going to see the cool toys, gadgets, action and costumes. I cannot emphasize enough how superficial all that is to the layers this thing will slowly, delightfully, horrifically, peel before you. This truly transcends the "comic book movie" tag and sweeps itself grandly up into the "great fu#%ing FILM" shelf. Right at the top there next to the best of anything else you'll see this year. Perhaps even out of reach of those.

Why is Heath Ledger listed in the credits? Where was he? Heath Ledger is not in this film. It is only the Joker, the Joker as you've simply never seen him onscreen, the way he was always MEANT TO BE. The way few can write him, even in comics or graphic novels. Finally we get to see just how and WHY this skinny, scarred little guy in makeup, above any other man alive, can be and is Batman's, and by extension Gotham's, irrefutable number one true nemesis, forever and all time feared. To label the Joker simply "crazy" is a naive disservice. Utterly disturbing, he is a completely unpredictable force of nature who through his brilliant dementia is every bit as resourceful and powerful as our caped crusader. This is not a veneration, as above all else, this Joker is frickin' scary! When he laughs, you tremble and pee.

And pitted against him is the return of the strongest realisation of the Batman character ever put to screen.

Let me belatedly qualify. It's not perfect, no film is or can be. I have both fanboy and film-critical gripes (which i'll no doubt talk about in spoilerish detail at some calmer point), but truly, at the end of the day it just doesn't get served up much better than this. Films like these are one a decade.

The hell you still reading this for? This is not a wait-for-rental, small-screen 50 inch experience, folks. Get your ass into that cinemaplex, strap yourself down and keep the oxygen handy...

....you'll need it when you see the origin of the Bat-pod - i'm still geeking!

[dons pillow-cowl and smacks up nearest clown dolly]

For the past months, I have been waiting on two things: the release of this movie and Pathos' reaction to it. Now I've seen both and I have nothing to add...but a huge grin!

Aries

[PJ'l_Master]

To be honest, I feel the Joker was the greater anti-hero in this film than Batman was and I think that is amazing.


agreed, the Joker stole the whole movie

[Pure_Evil]

That movie was so bizarre, I'm not even sure it was good......

one of the most disturbing movies I've seen

[Nitro]

That movie was so bizarre, I'm not even sure it was good......

one of the most disturbing movies I've seen

You must not have seen The Holy Mountain

[Pathos]

You raise a good point, Pure. Many feel the same way. Hard to believe this baby is PG-13.

Ariiiieeeees! You know how sometimes you wake up and something just doesn't feel right about the day? Something is just off? Well, that feeling went away when i stumbled across your various posts! Aries CF - Now Shipping with Medicinal Goodness! Good to see you around again, bud. And, as charming as your grin may be, tell me what you thought of DK, por favor! Did you dig on the first one?

Here's the latest on the box-office (http://www.joblo.com/weekend-box-office), with more thoughts below.


More applause for TDK!!!!

http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/boxoffice-tdk1.jpg


For a second weekend in a row, THE DARK KNIGHT held the #1 spot at the box-office, this time with over $75M in receipts. The film has now grossed over $314M in its first 10 days of release, making it the film to reach that mark the quickest of all-time -- the previous record holder was PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 3, which managed to break $300M in 16 days. It also beat the record for the biggest gross for a film during its 2nd week of release (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/weekends/moreweekends.htm?page=2&p=.htm) (previous record holder was SHREK 2 with $72M). The film has already become the biggest movie of 2008 (both IRON MAN and INDIANA JONES 4 also have around $314M) and will be looking to beat the $400M mark record next.

SHREK 2 also holds the record for the film to reach the $400M mark the fastest (wow, who knew?). It managed to hit that amount back in 2004, in only 43 days. According to WB procrastinators, THE DARK KNIGHT will likely reach that mark between the 18-20 day mark. All together now....wow!! So for anyone who now wants to re-visit my article about THE DARK KNIGHT possibly beating TITANIC's all-time record of $600M (http://www.joblo.com/dark-knight-vs-titanic), now is the time. What do you all think...possible? The second highest grossing movie of all-time is STAR WARS with $460M.

Next week sees the release of 2 other summer movies, neither of which seems to have enough "buzz" to beat THE DARK KNIGHT out of the number 1 spot, but I guess we'll find that out next Sunday. The films are MUMMY 3: TOMB OF THE STUPID-ASS TITLE (http://www.joblo.com/upcomingmovies/movies.php?id=2882) and SWING VOTE (http://www.joblo.com/upcomingmovies/movies.php?id=2946) starring Kevin Costner...remember him? But more importantly, how many times have you see THE DARK KNIGHT so far? VOTE HERE!!! (http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=22215)
.....

I posted earlier about my overall opinion on the validity of gate receipts, so with that in mind let me dance with the devil here: These "predictions" are frankly getting a little out of hand. To suggest it will beat Titanic is completely unrealistic. If nothing else, the market has substantially changed in the intervening years.

To that end, here's a rather poignant response i dug out from somewhere in that thread (hidden deep within the usual fanboy drivel):


JohnLocke2342 on Jul 24 2008, 11:00:15 PM writes:
WHO KNOWS?

I for one, don't think that The Dark Knight will have the legs to beat Titanic, I don't think anything ever will. I do though, notice a phenomenon when I see one.. and this movie.. is A PHENOMENON. I haven't seen something like this since, well, ever. Not just hype, I've seen that a million times. I'm talking about a movie so good that people saw it twice in one weekend. A LOT OF PEOPLE. I've talked to countless of couples, groups of guys, and groups of girls, that have seen this movie twice in one weekend, or are planning on seeing it again, maybe even three times. I have never in my entire 21 year history on this planet seen something like this. Who knows how well it will do.

This movie just means THAT MUCH to some people. Whether it's because they're Batman fans, Heath Ledger fans, or just plain old movie fans looking for something fresh and gorgeous, well, this is the ripest thing out there right now. And it probably will be for the next couple of months. Amen to Nolan and Co., they've given us something we've been missing for a while.Here, here! Well said, person-i-should-hang-out-with!

-Pathos

[Pathos]

BTW If anyone is still itching for more Batman I would recommend checking out Batman Gotham Knight on DVD. It's very well animated and incredibly dark and brooding. The loosely connected compilation of animated shorts focuses on Batman's psyche and how others perceive him.
Good call. I can't believe i forgot to mention Gotham Knight. Your last sentence there sums it up nicely: You get six thinly interconnected short stories here, each with differing animation based on the changing perspective of the public observer (in this case Skaters). Interesting choice.

However, as a loosely marketed bridge with the live-action Nolan verse, the ties here were disappointingly tenuous... i wanted a little more meat on my Batbone!

Still, it is indeed worth a rental. Loved the opening in particular and the supremely badass heroics from Bats atop a moving train. My own daily commute is getting stale. I need to try that sh!t for myself.

[BobtheCkroach]

I have no doubt that Titanic will eventually go down - it gets easier and easier to hit the 300,400 and so on mark as time goes on. Might not be for 10 or even 20 more years, but as long as tickets rise, it'll happen.

However, I doubt Titanic will ever be beaten in terms of true numbers, as Pathos mentions.

If you use some quick numbers from BoxOfficeMojo.com (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/about/adjuster.htm) for adjusting for ticket price inflation...

In 2008, a movie ticket averages $7.08.

In 1997, a movie ticket averaged $4.59.

If you think of just hitting the 300 million mark, it would take 42.37 million tickets today. Back in 97, it would have taken 65.36 million - that's already a difference of 23 million viewers - Batman would need almost 50% more than it has!

If you go all the way to the 600 million mark, you're talking 84.75 million in 2008 versus 130.72 million in 1997. That means that batman needs 45.97 million butts less to get to the same total the Titanic made.

I never saw titanic, I boycott it because it looked boring and chickflickish. But even I can't deny how freakin' untouchable it is in the box office. The total gross will get overturned one day - i have no doubt - but the ticket count is gonna live forever.

[Sexyjess]

val kilmer as batman=sexy alot more sexy and what a mouth... yummy

ow and Christian Bale his voice sounds really LAME in the movie go VAL KILMER :P

anyway about the movie i think it was all about action this time kinda lost the caracters i loved jack when he was the joker...so i had a hard time see anyone else playing joker...but Heath Ledger did a good job rest in heaven

[Sexyjess]

best batman movie Batman Forever :D

and the best joker to left ;)

[JIMINATOR]

hrm, titanic

http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Ed-Bagley-1030/movie-24263.php

in 2007 dollars:

1) Gone with the Wind - $1.329+ billion (actual gross of $198+ million in 1939).

2) Star Wars - $1.172+ billion ($460+ million in 1977).

3) The Sound of Music - $937+ million ($158+ million 1965).

4) E. T.: The Extra-Terrestrial - $933+ million ($435+million in 1982).

5) The Ten Commandments - $861+ million ($65+ million in 1956).

6) Titanic - $844+ million ($600+ million in 1997).

7) Jaws - $842+ million ($260+ million in 1975).

8) Doctor Zhivago - $816+ million ($111+ million in 1965).

9) The Exorcist - $727+ million ($232+ million 1973).

10) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - $717+ million ($184+ million in 1937).

[Asian Invasian]

hrm, titanic

http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Ed-Bagley-1030/movie-24263.php

in 2007 dollars:

1) Gone with the Wind - $1.329+ billion (actual gross of $198+ million in 1939).

2) Star Wars - $1.172+ billion ($460+ million in 1977).

3) The Sound of Music - $937+ million ($158+ million 1965).

4) E. T.: The Extra-Terrestrial - $933+ million ($435+million in 1982).

5) The Ten Commandments - $861+ million ($65+ million in 1956).

6) Titanic - $844+ million ($600+ million in 1997).

7) Jaws - $842+ million ($260+ million in 1975).

8) Doctor Zhivago - $816+ million ($111+ million in 1965).

9) The Exorcist - $727+ million ($232+ million 1973).

10) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - $717+ million ($184+ million in 1937).

Good find.

[Asian Invasian]

and the best joker to left ;)
No way, Heath ledger portrayed the joker how he always should have been. Jack nicholson doesnt even scare me.

[BobtheCkroach]

No way, Heath ledger portrayed the joker how he always should have been. Jack nicholson doesnt even scare me.

QFT.

[Sexyjess]

but jack.n was more funny :P i like the fun in the long gun he had in the movie and toys but the new batman movie are so serious :P

[Wiper]

Saw the movie and must say it's the best batman movie all time!


"do you know how I got these scars?" :rofl:

Love the psycho game which showed out perfectly:cool:

[Pathos]

Good stuff, fellas. The problem i've always had with the inflation list is that it doesn't account for the fact that "back then" you had no option BUT to catch these films in the cinema. I.E., there was none of this "that looks interesting, but tickets are too expensive - I'll just catch it on rental/DVD/cable/TV", or "i wanna see that again. I'll probably buy that down the road and watch it on my big ass home setup" and such.

If you wanted to see these suckers AT ALL, let alone a second time, you had to hit the cinemaplex. And this was allowed by the fact that they hung around on the big screen for a long freakin' time. Imagine what a Dark Knight or Titanic would do under those conditions...

Not that the modern lists are any fairer. For their own advantages (nigh oppressive media awareness, sheer screen count and accessibility etc) they're just as dodgy. Far as i'm concerned, both are more or less only good for a general idea of the flowing ebb and tide of our cinematic passions. Certainly most of the stuff on the inflation list in particular are solid films, so if push came to shove i guess i'd lean more toward that direction.

With that in mind, here's the latest from JoBlo on The Dark Friggin' Knight and the box office in general:




http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/dotline.gif
WEEKEND BOX-OFFICE
http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/dotline.gif
TDK keeps on truckin'...

Despite THE MUMMY 3 out-grossing THE DARK KNIGHT on Friday, TDK came back strong on Saturday and Sunday and managed to retain the #1 spot on the summer box-office list, despite a slew of new movies coming out every week. The film is now closing in on the $400M mark and is already in 8th place on the all-time domestic gross box-office list (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic.htm).

The 3rd installment of the MUMMY franchise opened pretty decently (despite across-the-board bad reviews (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mummy_tomb_of_the_dragon_emperor/)) with $43M in its opening weekend, which was around the same amount as the original film ($43M, went on to gross $155M), but a step down from the last installment, THE MUMMY RETURNS, which had managed a $68M opening, and an overall gross of $202M. That said, Brendan Fraser, an actor who has all but disappeared from Hollywood relevance since the last MUMMY movie, has 2 films in the top 10 as we speak. Wow.

This week's other new release, SWING VOTE, didn't fare as well, managing to scrounge up about $6M, despite starring Kevin Costner. Then again, Costner hasn't scored over $100M in a film since 1992's THE BODYGUARD, so maybe this wasn't as unexpected as you'd think. MAMMA MIA continued to impress audiences, adding another $13M to its coffers and losing only 25% of its audience from last weekend, while Pixar's WALL-E became the 6th film of 2008 to break the $200M mark, and will likely beat KUNG FU PANDA, which is resting around $210M and last year's Pixar's hit, RATATOUILLE, which managed to gross $206M.

The X-FILES movie dropped about 66% of its audience from last weekend and is now officially the latest "disappointment" of the summer (after SPEED RACER, THE LOVE GURU). HELLBOY II managed to surpass the $71M mark this past weekend, which was a good sign considering that its original installment had only grossed $59M in theaters. When you consider that it only had 1 week in theaters before the tropical storm that was THE DARK KNIGHT attacked America, it's a small victory for those folks.

In relation to this article (http://www.joblo.com/dark-knight-vs-titanic) that we ran about two weeks ago (and which every other site seems to have regurgitated in their own words since), do you believe that THE DARK KNIGHT will beat TITANIC's $600M box-office record? (PS: STAR WARS' 2nd place showing of $460M is actually a little deceiving since the film's original 1977 release only grossed $307M, while its re-issue in 1992 and special edition re-release in 1997 added the extra dollars to its total) VOTE HERE!!! (http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=22355)
Grr. This must be the only forum on the web which doesn't allow one to center! [spends 30mins removing CENTER and LEFT coding] If this were not an inappropriate thread for it, i might lovingly and tenderly ask... uh, what gives?!

[Pathos]

best batman movie Batman Forever :D

and the best joker to left ;)

Good God, Jess! I man-love Val Kilmer as much as the next Willow fan, but that Batman Forever pic? How can i put this... The Dark Knight should never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever STAND THAT WAY!

Ever, ever, ever.

Birdcage 2, maybe. A Batman film? No...

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk93/soggychewtoy/Caps%20Misc/PathosForever.jpg

P.S. Speaking of chiseled homo-eroticism , i stumbled across this (http://www.myfittribe.com/articles/20070924/amazing-transformations-christian-bale.html). Old news, but it still amazes me. Bale is just nuts.

-P

[Sexyjess]

Good God, Jess! I man-love Val Kilmer as much as the next Willow fan, but that Batman Forever pic? How can i put this... The Dark Knight should never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever STAND THAT WAY!

Ever, ever, ever.

Birdcage 2, maybe. A Batman film? No...

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk93/soggychewtoy/Caps%20Misc/PathosForever.jpg

P.S. Speaking of chiseled homo-eroticism , i stumbled across this (http://www.myfittribe.com/articles/20070924/amazing-transformations-christian-bale.html). Old news, but it still amazes me. Bale is just nuts.

-P


rofl :D

[rancid monkey]

Saw this the other night and i have to say this is the best film ive seen in a very long time!

I'm annoyed that heath died as i'd love to see the joker in the next film.
Comming into this film i was scared that people's opinions of his proformance were swayed by the fact that he had died, but he really was amazing.

One of my favourite moments wasthe "Wanna see a magic trick?" part.
You want to look out for that part if you're yet to see the film.

[Pathos]

Welcome to the drooling fold, Rancid!

Here's the current box-office Dark Knight figures from JoBlo.com and Latino Review. Why am i continuing to post these at all given my anti-list rants above? Hey man, i love this film! I've seen it 3 times. I'm just not ready to stop talking about it. Hell, i've even destroyed the high def pirate copy i made during my last IMAX visit. This thing deserves better!




http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/dotline.gif
WEEKEND BOX-OFFICE
http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/dotline.gif
[B]#1 four weeks in a row!!!

Even though PINEAPPLE EXPRESS scored the biggest August Wednesday opening of all-time ($12M!!) and managed to average a greater amount per theater than THE DARK KNIGHT over this past weekend (TDK played in about 1,000 more theaters though), Batman and crew still managed to hang on to the #1 spot for the 4th weekend in a row, while at the same time, becoming the 3rd highest grossing movie of all-time behind TITANIC and STAR WARS. The last time a film managed to maintain the #1 spot for four weeks in a row, the year was 2003 and RETURN OF THE KING was the film. That movie did it during a much slower time of year, with nowhere near the competition "The Dark Knight" has faced during Hollywood's busy summer season.

"The Dark Knight" should surpass "Star Wars" to become No. 2 on the revenue chart by this coming weekend.

All together now...wow!!

Incidentally, for all those folks kvetching about "inflation" and its role in the greatest box-office movies of all-time, check out this inflation-adjusted list, which has GONE WITH THE WIND in 1st place, STAR WARS still in 2nd place and THE SOUND OF MUSIC in 3rd. Huh. THE DARK KNIGHT is currently ranked in 49th place on that list.

"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."

Even so, "The Dark Knight" has far outdone even its studio's expectations. Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., said he would have been happy if the movie simply exceeded the $205 million domestic total of its predecessor, "Batman Begins."

It should top out at $510 million to $520 million, Fellman said.

[Death Engineer]

No update this week? Come on slacker... ;)

[Pathos]

Haha... hey, i'm back at work now. Give a guy a break! [poses beside Jesus Christ poster, the resemblance uncanny]

Here you go: (http://www.latinoreview.com/news/tropic-thunder-ko-s-the-dark-knight-5230)


Tropic Thunder KO's The Dark Knight
By Kellvin Chavez on August 17, 2008

It took four of Hollywood's biggest stars to take down Batman. The DreamWorks-Paramount comedy "Tropic Thunder" - with Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise - debuted at No. 1 with $26 million, bumping "The Dark Knight" to second place after four weekends on top.

The Warner Bros. Batman flick pulled in $16.8 million to raise its total to $471.5 million. "The Dark Knight" passed the original "Star Wars" ($461 million) and now stands as No. 2 on the all-time domestic charts, behind only "Titanic" ($600.8 million).

Taking inflation into account, "The Dark Knight" trails both movies in actual tickets sold, however. "The Dark Knight" would need to gross about $900 million to match the number of admissions for "Titanic" and about $1.2 billion to equal "Star Wars.

"The Dark Knight" managed to fend off another "Star Wars" movie this weekend. The animated tale "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," also released by Warner Bros., opened at No. 3 with $15.5 million.

Families made up two-thirds of the audience for "Clone Wars," Fellman said. "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, who has an executive producer credit on "Clone Wars," intended the movie as an introduction to his "Clone Wars" TV show debuting this fall on the Cartoon Network.

"Tropic Thunder" was the third R-rated comedy to open solidly in recent weeks, following "Pineapple Express" and "Step Brothers." Most summer comedies are rated PG-13, since an R rating limits the audience by requiring anyone younger than 17 to come with an adult.

And if you're wondering what this summer's TOP 10 highest grossing movie list looks like, wonder no more...

1. DARK KNIGHT: $471M
2. IRON MAN: $317M
3. INDIANA JONES 4: $315M
4. HANCOCK: $225M
5. WALL-E: $214M
6. KUNG FU PANDA: $212M
7. SEX AND THE CITY: $152M
8. PRINCE CASPIAN: $141M
9. THE INCREDIBLE HULK: $134M
10. WANTED: $133M

I've seen every movie on that list... except Wall-E which is still not bloody out in Australia! ARGH!

Word is Clone Wars is absolutely horrid (http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=22568). Hardly a surprise. I had free tickets and actually passed them up for another IMAX Dark Knight viewing.

I... i think i might have some kind of problem. [strokes little cardboard, homemade batty ears]

[EXEcution]

Aw Batman beaten by a bunch of comedians.

"What happened.. Did your balls drop off? Hmm..."

[SASQUATCH]

To my surprise I didn’t think Heath Ledger would play a good Joker but he did a wonderful job.

As for Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman they played their roll nicely.

The joker has always been the most formidable enemy for Batman because if you look back on the history it shows that the Joker was unpredictable and out of the ordinary of a sinister plan. This is what Heath Ledger was able to convince me of playing the joker and how well he performed his roll. The effects, script etc was nicely setup and I give it a 3 ½ stars and worth going to see it at the movie theaters.

[MORGANA]

Saw it, was very good i like the actors and story but i can't say it was best Batman movie, for me is Batmans Returns still best, even though is 16 years old..