Jul 20 2008
“The Dark Knight” Sets Box Office Record
The new Batman installment, “The Dark Knight”, starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, set a one day box office record Friday, with $66.4 million on it’s first full day viewings. That number surpassed the previous record of $59.8 million established last year by ”Spider-Man 3″. Industry forecasters suggest that “The Dark Knight” has a strong chance of breaking the opening weekend record of $151.1 million, which “Spider-Man 3″ also holds.
Critical praise from the film has been heaped upon Ledger for his morbid portrayal of the Joker. This is the first release of a film starring the actor since his death from an accidental drug overdose earlier this year, and many industry analysts believe that his presence in the film contributed to the huge box office opening.
Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, which tracks box office ticket receipts, says “We’ve really never seen anything like this. The death of a fine actor taken in his prime, a legendary performance, and a movie that lives up to all the hype. That all combined to create these record-breaking numbers.”
The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
