As summer dwindles down, people tend to forget about the big summer movies that filled their free time. However, Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Dark Knight”, is a film that may never be forgotten. Starting from the opening midnight showing, “The Dark Knight” broke box office sales and never stopped. The midnight shows alone brought in $18,489,000. The previous record for midnight ticket sales was held “Star Wars: Episode III- The Revenge of the Sith” which brought in $16.9 million.
After only one day, “The Dark Knight” brought in $66.4 million. This broke the record set by last years’ blockbuster hit, “Spider-Man 3” which only brought in $59.8 million on its first day.
This record-breaking pace continued throughout opening weekend finishing at $155.3 million in total sales. Although many fans may have expected such amazing box office results, the director sure wasn’t. Christopher Nolan mentioned his surprise at the box office success of his latest film.
Not only did “The Dark Knight” excel in box office sales, but the movie itself managed to do something that most big summer movies could never do: It received equal praise from both critics and viewers alike.
“Bale again brilliantly personifies all the deep traumas and misgivings of Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne. A bit of Hamlet is in this Batman,” raved The Hollywood Reporter.
“When was the last time you saw a blockbuster that was impeccably executed and simultaneously thought-provoking, audacious and unnerving while consistently being fun and entertaining,” said USA Today.
Nowadays, finding a movie that everyone likes is a tough thing to accomplish. Some claim that the hype of the film is based on the tragic death of actor Heath Ledger who played The Joker in the film. However, even before his accidental-overdose in January, people were in a frenzy over just the trailers and posters for the movie. The poster of The Joker with the slogan, “Why So Serious”, was the initial spark in interest for many new batman fans.
So far, the film has won two awards and has three nominations.
The success of “The Dark Knight” has prompted a video game based on the film. No word on when such game with debut. However, it is anticipated to be another hit.
“I saw ‘The Dark Knight’ three times already, and am planning on watching it the second it comes out on DVD,” said Katy O’Dwyer, a college student from Delaware County Community College.
Katy’s response to the film seems to echo in other students as well. “The Dark Knight” will surely not be forgotten anytime soon.
Melanie Peterson is a second-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at MP649178@wcupa.edu.