Aug 5 2008 06:57 PM ET

'The Dark Knight' sets another record

Categories: Movie Biz

The Dark Knight became the fastest movie in history to break the $400 million domestic sales mark on Monday, doing so in just 18 days. The Chrisopher Nolan-directed Batman pic just recorded its third straight weekend in the box office top spot, taking in an estimated $43.8 million. Knight still has a ways to go, however, before it closes in on the highest grossing film of all time: Titanic, which hauled in $601 million, holding the top spot for an astounding 15 straight weeks in 1998.

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  • Angie

    GOOD!

  • Angie

    BAD!

  • Eric

    As much as I like this new batman movie, I’m sorry to dissappoint you but Titanic will remain the biggest box office film. A movie in the future might take its title but it will not be this film.

  • Alex

    You know how you break in an album? You listen to it a few times, one listen after another. Well, it’s been my experience that teenage girls take this to the extreme: they have the record on continuous loop for days. Same principle with Titanic. It became the box office champ of all time due to the repeat ticket buyers who were mostly girls. That is why The Dark Knight will not beat it and also why Twilight, when it comes out, could give TDK a serious run for its money.

  • duderino

    Alex, how is your theory on Titanic, whos success you seem to belittle as being girl-driven, any different than TDK, whos BO success is fueled by boys and man-boys seeing it over and over?

  • James T.

    I believe Titanic made more money its 5th weekend than its first. That would be hard to repeat.

  • mc

    i like dark knight better

  • jpratm

    TDK should come close to topping TITANIC but i dont see it actually happening… but then again it keeps on going we shall see… twilight ? !! breaking records or beating TDK now that funny..

  • Sam

    It’s going to be close, i mean 400 million in twenty days thats insane… i know twilight is popular and what not.. ive never read it but i highly doubt it will give TDK a run for its money… twilight i think will make around 150 million or plus… not 400 million…

  • chelsea

    I highly doubt that Twilight will give The Dark Knight a run for its money in ticket sales. Not even Harry Potter, arguably one of the most anticipated book-to-movies ever, never came close to the records Dark Knight has set.

  • Rob Grizzly

    Keep on truckin, TDK!
    1. There has been no serious competition for Batman (no, the mummy and stoner comedies are not serious competition). As far as I’m concerned, the summer is over.
    2. Movie release patterns are different from the way they used to be. Titanic was #1 for 15 weeks. The next best from that was the Sixth Sense with like 5 or 6 weeks. Nowadays, movie releases are top heavy, with everything expected to bank in the opening weekened and a few of the following weeks. Batman has been impressive, but remmeber ever week is another 50% decline. It won’t catch Titanic.
    3. The Dark Knight is doing well because it’s a universally good movie. It appeals to more than just 15 y.o. kids. Twilight will do well, but won’t touch Batman or Harry Potter for that matter.
    4. Duderino: no, Batman fanboys have nothing on teenage girls…

  • anonymous

    Ridiuculous. Twilight will make money but I highly doubt it will break any records. Titanic was one thing; *everyone* saw it; people dragged their grandmothers to go see it. My introverted workaholic uncle saw Titanic in the theaters for god’s sake, and I think it was his first in about a decade (and he hasnt seen another one in the theater since) TDK is fantastic but it’s also an emotional, draining experience that is hard to repeat over and over again.
    When my uncle goes to see TDK in the theaters, then I’ll know that TDK has a chance to beat Titanic. Until then……
    p.s. i am a girl, and i simply adored TDK, and yes, has seen it more than once in the theaters so far.

  • The Dude

    No.

  • Christopher Hickey

    The Dark Knight was a great movie and I’ve seen it 3 times and plan on seeing it one more time before it leaves theatres It estimate will make around 520 million. Titanic was a phenomenon that we are unlikely to see happen again for a very long time if ever. That doesn’t in any way diminish The Dark Knight. In fact TDK is a better movie.

  • Jesse

    Dark Knight is a much better movie than Titanic. End of story.

  • cloud strife

    Pineapple Express might finally break the hold TDK has at #1. Then again, there’s Clone Wars 2 weeks from now. Most likely TDK will not stay at # 1 for long…

  • Heather

    Titanic barely made a splash its first few weeks. It was word of mouth in the weeks to follow that pushed ticket sales and made it a phenomenon. It as already been mention that the teenage girls drove the movie. They went again and again. Now The Dark Knight in my opinion is a better movie but it is not a movie that some would see 10 or 15 times (Ive seen it 3 times so far). Twilight will not come close it doesnt have the wide range of viewers that Titanic or the Dark Knight has had.

  • ben

    ARE YOU KIDDING? I just watched the preview for twillight, never heard of it, and I probably will see it, yet that film makes no more than 200 million no matter what type of following it has… 200 will be tough. TDK best film all time. Titanic is a pretty good movie at best that was in theaters forever and parents gave their teenage daughters money OVER and OVER again…

  • johanna

    I love Dark Knight..I really like that movie, but I think nothing can beat Titanic..I know Dark Knight can have the position of Titanic, but Titanic is the movie that everyone should remember. Its not just a movie about heroes or bad guys but part of our history too.I love both of those movies.

  • curt campbell

    Dark Knight was a “Dark Ugly Mess”….It was all over the place, it has no depth, no soul a lifeless piece of crapola…The Joker was interesting for a while and then he got old really quick…This movie will be well received by thieves, gangbangers and the scum of the earth…

  • James Hughes

    curt campbell,
    Clearly you have mental problems and should get some help.

  • The Karma Police

    James, I agree with you. Curt, you could go die in the fires of the under world for all I care.
    You die.
    Tonight.
    http://www.whysoserious.com

  • AsifKhan

    curt campbell, you simply have bad taste for action movies like ‘The Dark Knight’. I would say ‘The Dark Knight’ is the best ‘Batman’ movie of all time. If it breaks the box-office record that ‘Titanic’ still has, I would be very surprised. Best movie I’ve seen in a while. R.I.P. Heath Ledger.

  • ADK

    Ok, first off this is one of the greatest movies of all time, that’s a given. But even if TDK was to break the $620 billion mark we have to remember that in 1998 when Titanic made it’s record, ticket prices where about $6 or $7 on average. Compared to todays $9 to $10 ticket average. TDK is going to have to do much better then $620 billion to be considered the best. By the way, if some of you disagree because you think the price increase of tickets is so the movie theaters can make more money to saty open that is somewhat true, but the percentage the box ofice takes has also increased. So instead on getting all exicited about how much a movie is making, which is still fun, but lets look at the number of tickets just to see which has been watched more. Just a thought.

  • Bellatrix

    Oh MY GOD!! The Dark Knight was amazing! I have seen it three times in theaters already and I absolutely love Heath as the Joker. I <3 The Joker, he was always my fav villain from Batman. I loved him so much that after the first time I saw TDK I went and took all the jokers from all of my decks of cards and stuck them on my wall!!
    The Titanic will NEVER measure up.
    <3

  • ADK

    Ok, please excuse some of my typos, all the $620 billion should be $601 million. Sorry.

  • Bellatrix

    Dude, It’s Ok.

  • Bellatrix

    The typos I mean!!

  • abet

    true that ticket prices were 50% cheaper during Titanic. But we must also take into consideration the present state of the industry: where PIRACY is wrecking havoc to the true box office potential of a movie. Repeat watching is still happening only that most people would watch it again on pirated DVDs unlike during the time Titanic was released.

  • Neal W.

    This begs the obvious question, why doesn’t the industry just keep total ticket sales statistics? Gross ticket sales are a totally pointless statistic.

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