“Batman” Breaks Bank

Wow. That’s a lot of money. I’m surprised that the film was made for less than $200 million, and it looks like it could break $300 million by the end of its theatre run. Hell, I’m even considering watching it in IMAX again, so add another $15 to that total.

clipped from movies.yahoo.com “The Dark Knight” took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, topping the previous best of $151.1 million for “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007 and pacing Hollywood to its biggest weekend ever, according to studio estimates Sunday. Factoring in higher admission prices, “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. 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.