Dark Knight makes history

2008-09-01 08:00

David Germain

Los Angeles - Batman's rich alter-ego Bruce Wayne has added half a billion dollars to his riches.

The Dark Knight on Sunday became the second movie in Hollywood history to top $500m at the domestic box office, raising its total to $502.4m, according to estimates from distributor Warner Bros.

The film hit that mark in just over six weeks, half the time it took Titanic, which reached $500m in a little more than three months.

Titanic, the biggest modern blockbuster, remains No 1 on the domestic charts with $600.8m.

Despite its brisk pace, The Dark Knight is not expected to approach the total for Titanic, which put up smaller numbers week after week but lingered at the top of the box office for months.

Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros, said he expects The Dark Knight to finish at about $530m, though it could reach $550m if business persists as strongly as it has.

"I keep raising the number because it just keeps holding better than expected," Fellman said.

The Dark Knight will climb to about $505m by the Labour Day holiday on Monday, the conclusion of Hollywood's busy summer season.

That amounts to nearly one-eighth of Hollywood's overall summer revenue of $4.2bn, which edges the previous summer record of $4.18bn set last year, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

$900m to match Titanic tickets

Factoring in today's higher admission prices, The Dark Knight would need to take in about $900m to match the number of tickets sold by Titanic.

Labour Day weekend was generally sleepy at theatres, with a rush of new movies failing to find much favour with audiences.

Through Sunday, Paramount's comedy Tropic Thunder remained No 1 for the third straight weekend with $11.5m.

The 20th Century Fox sci-fi thriller Babylon AD with Vin Diesel debuted in second place with $9.7m, while Overture Films' espionage drama Traitor, starring Don Cheadle, opened at No 5 with $7.9m.

Premiering at No 7 was Lionsgate's spoof flick Disaster Movie with $6.2m. MGM's campus comedy College opened well outside the top 10 with $2.1m.

The top 12 movies took in $75.2m, down 23% from the same weekend last year, when Halloween opened with $26.4m.

"This is kind of an inauspicious end to a really incredible summer," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "We limped past the finish line."

- AP