‘Dark Knight’ Sets Box Office Record
Batman has bested Spider-Man — at least at the box office — as “The Dark Knight” set an opening-day record Friday with ticket sales of $66.4 million U.S.
That’s almost $7 million more than “Spider-Man 3,” which held the previous record with $59.8 million when it opened last year.
The one-day haul of “The Dark Knight” also topped the entire weekend ticket sales of its predecessor, 2005’s “Batman Begins,” which took in $48.7 million in its first three days.
The sequel broke another record by taking in $18.5 million from midnight screenings, surpassing the previous record of $16.9 million set by “Star War: Episode III – The Revenge of the Sith.”
“The Dark Knight” has been met with stellar reviews following much advance buzz, which grew following the death of one of the film’s stars, Heath Ledger, from an accidental prescription-drug overdose in January.
Ledger plays the maniacal Joker in the Christopher Nolan-directed blockbuster, which also stars Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman.
Related Stories:
- Batman Forever: ‘The Dark Knight’ Smashes Box Office Records
- ‘The Dark Knight’ Still Ruling the Box Office
- ‘The Dark Knight’ Strikes Box Office Gold, Again
- ‘Tropic Thunder’ Tops Box Office; ‘Dark Knight’ Falls to Second Place
- Australian Theatre Named After Heath Ledger
