The Comprehensive Record Breaker List for The Dark Knight
July 28th, 2008
The Dark Knight was expected to do well as soon as it was released. If the first Batman movie in WB’s relaunch of the Batman property convinced fans that The Bat-Man was back in full force; the follow up film with three years of internet hype and proactive and brilliant viral marketing only made fanboy anticipation almost untolerable (Guilty).
So how much ass did this kickass ass-kicker kick ass? I’ve been following record breaking news almost as excitedly as I was counting the days leading to the movies release. Here is the list so far which will likely get updated as new records get broken–as undoubtably they will–I assure you.
- Widest Theatrical Release: The Dark Knight opened across 4,366 theaters. The previous record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in 2007 which opened in 4,362 theaters.
- The Midnight Record: The Dark Knight made $18.5 million from 3,040 theaters on its midnight debut. The previous record was held by Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the SIth in 2005 which made $16.5 million from 2,915 theaters.
- Best Opening Weekend: The Dark Knight made $158.41 million on its opening weekend. The previous record was held by Spider-Man 3 in 2007 which made $151.1 million.
- Best IMAX Debut: The Dark Knight made $6.2 million on its IMAX cinema debut. The previous record was held by Spider-Man 3 in 2007 which made $4.7 million.
- One-Day Box Office Record: The Dark Knight made $67.2 million on the opening day. The previous record was held by Spider-Man 3 in 2007 which made $59.8 million.
- Best Second Weekend: The Dark Knight made $75.63 million on its second weekend. The previous record was held by Shrek in 2004 which made $72.17 million.
- Biggest July Weekend: The Dark Knight made $158.4 million (month not quite over yet though). The previous record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest in 2006 which made $135.6 million.
- Fastest Over $200 Million: The Dark Knight crossed the $200 million mark after 5 days. The previous record was was held by Spider-Man 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith which took 8 days.
- Fastest Over $300 Million: The Dark Knight crossed the $300 million mark after 10 days. The previous record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest in 2006 which took 16 days.
- Fastest Over $400 Million: The Dark Knight crossed the $400 million mark after 18 days. The previous record was held by Shrek 2 in 2004 which took 43 days.
- Fastest Over $500 Million: The Dark Knight crossed the $500 million mark after 45 days. The previous record was held by Titanic in 1997 which took 98 days.
- Highest Grossing Comic Book Movie: The Dark Knight beat Spider-Man and is still rising. The previous record was held by Spider-Man in 2002 which took in $403.7 million.
What’s Left to Take Out?
I eagerly await updating this post with the following figures:
- Top Grossing Film in 2008: The Dark Knight holds the spot already two weeks after its release. Can it hold on?
If any movie can finally actually SINK the Titanic record, The Dark Knight will be the one to do it–at least domestically. I can only cross fingers in hopes it beats the international record. The Dark Knight doesn’t seem to be fueled by the same hype in other parts of the world as over here in North America. We shall see!
Close, But Not First
- Second Best Third Weekend: The Dark Knight comes second with $43.8 million. It narrowly beats the box office opening weekend of The Mummy 3. Record currently held by Spider-Man in 2002 which made $45 million.
- Fourth Best Fourth Weekend: The Dark Knight comes forth with $26 million. This puts it approximately $2.5 million bellow Spider-Man, Black Hawk Down and Titanic. Record currently with Titanic in 1997 which made $28.7 million.
- Second Highest Grossing Film in US: The Dark Knight comes second with $527 million. Record currently with Titanic in 1997 which made $600,788,188 domestically.
If anyone out there sees a record that The Dark Knight breaks that I happen to miss putting on this list please leave them in the comments below!
* Update, Aug 03, 2008: Added “Close, But Not First” section. Best Third Weekend still held by Spider-Man in 2002.
* Update, Aug 06, 2008: Confirmed: Fastest Over $400 Million.
* Update, Aug 11, 2008: Best Forth Weekend still held by Titanic is 1997. Also added Highest Grossing Comic Book Movie to the main record breaking list.
* Update, Nov 2, 2008: Confirmed: Fastest Over $500 Million. Also, assuming The Dark Knight is completely done its run (for now), that puts it second to Titanic for Highest Grossing Film in the US.
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The Midnight Record: The Dark Knight made $18.5 million from 3,040 theaters on its midnight debut. The previous record was held by Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the SIth in 2005 which made $16.5 million from 2,915 theaters.
yes, but I roughly calculated the devaluation of the $ since 2005…which pretty much levels things out with Star Wars and other comparisons