Los Angeles - Batman has proven unstoppable, taking out all
his rivals, but this time at the box office.
The Dark Knight, the sixth movie featuring the superhero, has
become the fastest moneymaker in Hollywood history, exceeding 400
million dollars in ticket sales in the United States and Canada in 18
days, the Hollywood Reporter, a newspaper covering the entertainment
industry, said Tuesday.
The previous record holder was 2004's Shrek 2, which took 43 days
to reach the same mark.
The Dark Knight's ticket sales in the rest of the world has pushed
its total income up to 602.5 million dollars as of Monday, according
to the website Box Office Mojo.
Film industry observers said they expected the movie to exceed 500
million dollars in domestic sales, but surpassing the top grosser of
all time, Titanic at 600.8 million dollars, was seen as unlikely,
even for a superhero.
But the Dark Knight has set other records. It took in 67.2 million
dollars on its opening day July 18 in the United States and Canada,
eclipsing the previous record set by Spider-Man 3 at nearly 60
million dollars.
It also had the biggest opening weekend with 158.4 million dollars
and has gone on to be the top grosser for three-straight weekends.
The movie has drawn rave critical reviews, but a bigger boost to
sales was believed to be the final performance of Heath Ledger's
career as the Joker. Ledger, 28, died in January of an accidental
overdose of prescription medicine.
The Dark Knight also stars Christian Bale as Batman and Michael
Caine as the butler Alfred as well as Morgan Freeman, Maggie
Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart.
Only eight films in Hollywood history have grossed more than 400
million dollars in the United States and Canada. After 1998's Titanic
came 1977's Star Wars with 461 million, Shrek 2 at 441.2 million,
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial at 435.1 million, Star Wars: Episode I -
The Phantom Menace with 431.1 million, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead
Man's Chest at 423.3 million, Spider-Man at 403.7 million and now The
Dark Knight.
USA
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