Dark Knight already looks like a blockbuster based on pre-sales

Dark Knight already looks like a blockbuster based on pre-sales

15 July 2008 14:32 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 9 comments

According to MovieTickets.com pre-sales tickets for 'The Dark Knight' are more popular than three of the best performers in the website's history. The sequel to 'Batman Begins' has sold more than three times as many tickets as 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' had with the same amount of time to go before release. It's also sold more than twice as many as 'Spider-Man 3,' and nearly doubled 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.'

Just in New York and Los Angeles there are already more than 150 sold out performances in New York and Los Angeles alone and is scheduled for more than 1,300 midnight showings which are listed on the MovieTickets.com website.

In a survey they conducted more than 90% of moviegoers ages 34 and under expressed interest in seeing the movie, as did nearly 80% of those between 35 and 44, and even 2/3 between the ages of 45 and 59.

I guess we can stop feeling sorry for the movie studios and all the money they're losing from piracy.

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/14809.cfm

I'm excited for Dark Knight. Ill be one of the many adding to the studios huge profit for this one :yippee:

Just ordered tickets for me and 3 other people for the 12:03am show Thurs night (The 12:01 and 12:02 shows were sold out) earlier today. Can't freakin' wait. I wasn't a huge fan of the original but I liked it enough to buy it on BD and every trailer I've seen for Dark Knight looks awesome. Ledger's Joker is completely insane, like Nicholson, only on a lot more PCP :lol:

Just ordered tickets for me and 3 other people for the 12:03am show Thurs night (The 12:01 and 12:02 shows were sold out) earlier today. Can't freakin' wait. I wasn't a huge fan of the original but I liked it enough to buy it on BD and every trailer I've seen for Dark Knight looks awesome. Ledger's Joker is completely insane, like Nicholson, only on a lot more PCP :lol:


Are you going to an Imax showing?

Are you going to an Imax showing?

That will definitely be the way to see this movie. I will see it when I return from my trip - next week.

Some of this movie was shot with IMAX cameras.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/technical


An article on the filming of TDK

http://icgmagazine.com/2008/july/july08.html

Based on that article it looks like there will be two different presentations; a regular theater and an IMAX theater - the info on the screen will not be the same.

Are you going to an Imax showing?

No, I heard IMAX tickets are impossible to find for opening weekend here in Chicago and I want to see it right when it opens. I'll eventually see it in IMAX when the crowds have died down some.

That will definitely be the way to see this movie. I will see it when I return from my trip - next week.

Some of this movie was shot with IMAX cameras.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/technical


An article on the filming of TDK

http://icgmagazine.com/2008/july/july08.html

Based on that article it looks like there will be two different presentations; a regular theater and an IMAX theater - the info on the screen will not be the same.

Interesting. So the opening scene of the movie will be presented in 1:44:1, on an 8 story tall screen, while the rest will be presented in 2:35:1. That will be an impressive opening scene :D

I'll be seeing this in the Imax as well. I have handful of movies I need to see right now. Hancock, Dark Knight, and JttCoTE.

Hope you have a good time with your daughter :hithere:

No, I heard IMAX tickets are impossible to find for opening weekend here in Chicago and I want to see it right when it opens. I'll eventually see it in IMAX when the crowds have died down some.


Yeah I'm sure it'll be tough here too. I'm just going to wait a week or two to see it. The Imax theater here seems to have way more seating than a normal theater though, so that helps.

I have handful of movies I need to see right now. Hancock, Dark Knight, and JttCoTE.:

I wouldn't waste my time with hancock. I thought it sucked pretty bad.

+1 on being stoked for Dark Knight. Christian Bale is by far the best Batman, combine that with Heath Ledger's dark looking Joker..... This should be one for the ages. I really just wish they had someone better than Maggie Gillenyhaull (I know I could have looked that spelling up) as the love interest.

I wouldn't waste my time with hancock. I thought it sucked pretty bad.

+1 on being stoked for Dark Knight. Christian Bale is by far the best Batman, combine that with Heath Ledger's dark looking Joker..... This should be one for the ages. I really just wish they had someone better than Maggie Gillenyhaull (I know I could have looked that spelling up) as the love interest.


Thanks for the heads up on Hancock. Maybe I'll just wait for the BD release on that one.

And about Maggie - This one came up about a week ago. Have you seen 'Secretary'? That is where most people gain an appreciation for her. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend giving it a rent ;)

I just got a text from a friend of mine who is a prominent member of the media. He's right now sitting in an IMAX theater for a media screening of this! I'm so jealous.

Thanks for the heads up on Hancock. Maybe I'll just wait for the BD release on that one.

And about Maggie - This one came up about a week ago. Have you seen 'Secretary'? That is where most people gain an appreciation for her. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend giving it a rent ;)

I've had that recommended to be before, but the simple fact is that I have no desire to appreciate her. She does nothing for me. Never has, never will.

She can be a dynamite actress, but she's no "Ms. Bruce Wayne" by any means.

Lee's predictions:

1. The film will do OVER $450 million in the USA*

2. The Ac. Award will be given to Ledger posthumously

3. It will help WB recover from their 2 bombs - Speed Racer and 10,000 BC :lol:

* As you can see - it could give #2 a run for the money.

http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross

For what it's worth, I liked Hancock a lot. He is not your typical superhero, so if you want another Superman, it might not be one for you.

Lee's predictions:

1. The film will do OVER $450 million in the USA*

2. The Ac. Award will be given to Ledger posthumously

3. It will help WB recover from their 2 bombs - Speed Racer and 10,000 BC :lol:

* As you can see - it could give #2 a run for the money.

http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross

Lee those are some bold predictions.. In saying that I think you may be right, I can not recall the last time I have seen a movie with this much hype before. I mean literally everyone I know wants to see this damn movie, and my prediction is it will be THE biggest box office gross not just this summer but for the entire year.. The only movie imo that has a chance to top it, is the new Harry Potter..

And to add to what rbinck said, Hancock was very entertaining. It is not your typical super hero movie but my god there were some awesome performances given by all 3 main characters. Theron, Bates and The incredible Will Smith..

Really looking forward to TDK. :banana: And the lovely Maggie :D

It's awesome to hear, that it will probably be a huge financial success. Was worried for the studios for a moment. >_< :D

I will be at my local IMAX on day one. This is one of those movie I would push cripples and nuns out of the way in order to see on time. Not really but I do want to see it bad

OK without spoiling the movie for others, lets hear some thoughts about The Dark Knight and what you thought about it...

I most likely wont get around to seeing this till sunday but so far I am hearing good things...

They are predicting ALL-TIME box office records for a Summer release and Probably an ALL-TIME BO record for any movie. Posthumous KUDOS to Heath Ledger for his portrayal of The Joker, it has almost every Critic totting his performance and abilites and they are saying "He is The Movie"
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk225/IMRIZZO/memorial.jpg

"He is The Movie"

Couldn't have said it better, he really steals the show. I'm a big fan of Christian Bale but Heath just blew him away. Possibly the greatest movie villain of all time. I'm going to go see Dark Knight again next week, outstanding movie and it's going to be awesome on Blu-ray :thumbsup: Standard DVD will definitely not cut it for this flick.

I'm glad to hear that it's living up to the hype.

Saw it at midnight the theater sold out all 4 showings!! the movie was great, totally intense and the Joker was awesome. I really enjoyed the creepy sounds they used when the joker was on the screen!!

Went to the first showing in my area this morning with my 11 year old son. If ledger doesnt win an Oscar, those voters need to be shown the knife, just kidding of course. This movie had me exhausted at the end. The acting by Ledger, Bale, Oldman, Eckhart, All the best I've ever seen in a comic book movie. Can you imagine if the didn't care about the ratings PG-13? This movie by far trumps any of the spidey movies. WOW

As a side note, my 11 year old thought Ironman was better, the PG-13 rating is very appropriate, especially during the made up face batman pinata scene

Movie is absolutely perfect, it does everything right. Masterpiece.

As good as the surrounding cast was, it was amazing to see how much higher Ledger was to them. He was the best movie villian of all time, there is no question, terrifying, engaging and disturbing.

I saw it last night, and while I won't say it was perfect, it was damn good. Not to beat a dead horse, but Heath Ledger seriously made the movie for me. Maggie had to be the worst part. There's just something about her that makes me uncomfortable.

$155 million opening weekend - biggest ever - beat Spiderman 3 by $4 million.

$155 million opening weekend - biggest ever - beat Spiderman 3 by $4 million.

It deserved it also, I wont be surpirsed if it has a $100 Million weekend this upcoming weekend.. with word of mouth and multiple viewings this movie could be the biggest we have seen in many many years..

With a record $158.4 million in box office revenue its opening weekend, The Dark Knight continued to rewrite history July 21 (top post-opening weekend Monday gross), July 22 (fastest movie to reach $200 million) and July 23, when the film recorded another $18 million in ticket sales.

Knight is on pace to surpass DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek 2 ($72.1 million) for the highest grossing movie the weekend after its initial release, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?sec_id=2&&article_ID=13185

'Dark Knight' rules second weekend

Crusader's 10-day cume tops $300 mil

Warner Bros.' record-chomper "The Dark Knight" again ruled the boxoffice roost this weekend, with its estimated $75.6 million in second-session grosses pushing domestic cume above $300 million in a quickest-ever sprint of just 10 days.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3if7b717939831cbe2e8971311f820e65c

New Batman movie The Dark Knight is standing tall at the global box office for a second consecutive week, taking $65.6 million (GBP32.8 million) over the weekend (25-27Jul08).

The Batman Begins sequel, starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, now has an international haul of $166 million (GBP83 million) - but it's still only a fraction of its record-breaking U.S. box office earnings of $300 million (GBP150 million) in just 10 days.

July 29, 2008: IMAX - The Dark Knight Nears $20 million Worldwide

The Dark Knight had the best sophomore stint of any IMAX film earning $4.6 million on 94 screens and now as $16.3 million, which is also a record for an IMAX film at this point in its run. Additionally, the film has made $2.8 million internationally, including $1.6 million on 28 IMAX screens this past weekend, and it is expected to reach $20 million worldwide after Monday numbers are added in. The highlight of the film's international IMAX run was in London where the film premiered at the BFI IMAX theater breaking the previous record with $221,000 over the weekend.

Warners rides 'Knight' to $1 bil overseas

WBPI third major international distributor to pass mark
By Hy Hollinger

July 30, 2008, 05:26 PM ET

"The Dark Knight"

As "The Dark Knight" took off overseas, Warner Bros. Pictures International became the third major international distributor to surpass $1 billion in foreign boxoffice revenue.

This is the eighth year in a row and the 10th time overall that WBPI has hurdled the industry benchmark.

Warner Bros. said that the Caped Crusader's opening blast of $40 million from only 20 markets "pushed" the company "over the $1 billion mark in international boxoffice."

Overcoming the disappointing performance of its early summer tentpole, "Speed Racer," the company's other summer releases -- the newest Batman entry, "Get Smart" ($65 million) and returns from key selected markets of New Line's "Sex and the City" -- made up for the let down.

Strong contributions came earlier in the year from "I Am Legend" ($210 million in 2008 for total of $328 million), "10,000 BC" ($174 million), "Sweeney Todd" ($100 million), "The Bucket List" ($81 million), and the German film "Keinorhasen," which took in $49 million in 2008 for a total of $63.5 million.

Paramount Pictures International passed the $1 billion benchmark June 16 and Fox International followed July 8.

Last year, for the first time in industry history, five of the six MPA companies topped $1 billion by the end of July; a sixth studio joined by the end of 2007.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ic83d0e899f94a600aed6dfebeb321116

From VB:

Dark Knight narrowly slays Dragon

VARIETY BOX-OFFICE REPORT: Batman pic wins third weekend in close race
By Pamela McClintock of Variety -- Video Business, 7/28/2008
AUG. 4 | VARIETY BOX-OFFICE REPORT: Universal's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor fell just short of stealing the box office crown from juggernaut The Dark Knight, which dropped only 42% in its third weekend to come within shouting distance of the $400 million mark in domestic ticket sales.
Dragon Emperor, which returns the Mummy franchise to the bigscreen after a seven-year absence, opened to an estimated $42.5 million domestically from 3,759 screens, while Warner Bros.' Dark Knight grossed an estimated $43.8 million from 4,266. Cume is now $394.9 million.

Just keeping things in perspective:
Talent or no talent, the ending of the REAL life drama will be the same for those headed down a similar path of destruction, a total waste of human life... and most will not leave a legacy of acting in a multi-million dollar movie, if they are even remembered for anything.

Not to say Heath, or any other fine actor before him who is no longer with us, is not due some admiration for their talent. So be it..life goes on.

Knight Crosses $400-Million Mark in 18 Days

5 August 2008 10:32 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news


Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight on Monday sprinted past the $400-million mark in ticket sales 18 days after it was released, thereby setting a new box-office record and beating the 43-day record set by Shrek 2 in 2004 in reaching that milestone. The film earned $6,287,429 on Monday to bring its total gross to $400,038,494, according to Media By Numbers. Earlier, the box-office tracking group had indicated that the actual results for the weekend had not been so hardy as studios had estimated. Knight, which had been expected to earn $43.8 million, actually came in at $42.6 million, and Universal's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which had been expected to earn $42.5 million, actually came in at $40.5 million. Meanwhile, on MSNBC.com, film commentator Erik Lundegaard argued that there is little chance that The Dark Knight will be able to challenge Titanic for the title of the highest-grossing movie in history. Suggesting that from here on out the movie will depend on repeat business if it is to gross $600 million -- as Titanic did -- Lundegaard commented, "Fanboys are fanboys, but there are no repeat customers like teenage girls in love with Leonardo DiCaprio." Lundegaard noted that the fall-off in ticket sales for Knight closely mirrors that of last year's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. If it continues to do so, he observed, Knight will probably end up with a domestic total of $515 million.

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0522615/

Dark Knight on top for fourth week
VARIETY BOX OFFICE REPORT: Batman derails Pineapple Express
By Ben Fritz of Variety -- Video Business, 8/11/2008
AUG. 11 | VARIETY BOX OFFICE REPORT: The Dark Knight staged a comeback Saturday to emerge victorious for the fourth straight frame, while some surprisingly durable holdovers continued to find traction in the middle of the top 10 pack.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ superhero sequel lost to Pineapple Express on Friday by a narrow $7.9 million to $7.6 million margin. But on Saturday it surged ahead of Sony’s stoner comedy, winning the day with $10.5 million vs. $7.6 million. Combined with a slightly higher Sunday estimate, it ended up comfortably in the top spot with $26 million.

Christian Bale and Heath Ledger starrer has now cumed $441.5 million, surpassing Shrek 2 as the third highest domestic grosser of all time. It’s expected to beat Star Wars’ $461 million total in the next week before finally settling at No. 2, behind Titanic.

Read the full story on Variety.com.