Michael Giltz: Dark Knight Mania: It Ain't Heath; It's The Batman http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emdark-knightem-mania-it_b_114145.html [4/5/2009 1:59:46 PM] APRIL 5, 2009 HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY 23/6 VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE Make HuffPost Your HomePage Get Email Alerts Twitter: Follow Us BIG NEWS : Angelina Jolie | Madonna | Chris Brown & Rihanna | Paul McCartney | More...</p><p> LOG IN | SIGN UP Michael Giltz BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index Dark Knight Mania: It Ain't Heath; It's The Batman Posted July 21, 2008 | 05:48 PM (EST) Read More: Batman , Batman Reviews , Batman: The Dark Knight , Box Office Grosses , Dark Knight , Et, Heath Ledger , Jack Nicholson , Movies, Star Wars , Titanic, Entertainment News Here's the truth about The Dark Knight's record- breaking box office.</p><p> The only surprise would have been if the latest Batman movie DIDN'T have amassive opening weekend.</p><p> Almost no otherfranchise in US movie history can claim theopening weekend hysteria generated by BruceWayne and the Caped Crusader.</p><p> Not that you'dknow it reading the traditional media.</p><p> The New York Times quoted Warner Bros. disingenuously claiming to be delightfully surprised. "It just took on a life of its own," said Dan Fellman, Warner's president for theatrical distribution. "You never expect anything like this." And the Associated Press quoted a usually reliable box office analyst as follows: "The average opening gross of the last five Batman movies is $47 million.</p><p> This tripled that, and for a reason," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "A big part of that was the Heath Ledgermystique and a phenomenal performance that absolutely deserves the excitement surrounding it."(Dergarabedian ignores how huge those opening numbers were for their time.) The goofiest line of all? The New York Times writing, "That the film's opening took on an event status that previous Batman movies never quite achieved apparently owed something to its strong presence in IMAX format."Huh? Is Cieply so young he doesn't remember the absolute hysteria surrounding Tim Burton's Batman and another acclaimed, memorable Joker (as embodied by Jack Nicholson)? And IMAX is negligible hype: the movie grossed $6.2 million on 94 IMAX screens.</p><p> Assuming a third of thatgross is the IMAX surchage (roughly $12 a ticket instead of $8, which is a very rough estimate),that means playing in IMAX meant The Dark Knight grossed an extra... wait for it... $2 million.</p><p> Be the First to Submit This Story to Digg Like this story? Get Alerts of big news events.</p><p> Enter your email address Popular Stories on HuffPost Fashion Face-Off! 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(And since I was wearing my Batman Underoos to opening day, that's event status in my book.) It held the record until...</p><p> Batman Returns (1992), which grossed $45.6 million.</p><p> That movie was topped by Jurassic Park, which grossed $50.1 million in 1993 and held the title until it was one-upped by...</p><p> Batman Forever (1995), which grossed $52 million.</p><p> It held the record until The Lost World: Jurassic Park took it back in 1997 with $72 million and held the crown until Harry Potter arrived on the scene in 2001.</p><p> Records have fallen ever since with numbing regularity, thanks to a huge number of multiplexes that can show a movie like The Dark Knight on staggered showtimes on four or five or even all of their available screens. (Ironically, DVDs have made movies so omnipresent that people who spend the money at the movies want it to be an event; hence the drive towards round-the-clock screenings on opening day and get-there-first hysteria for fans.) As for Heath Ledger, he was an exceptional actor but not yet a movie star.</p><p> And no one becomes a huge box office draw simply by dying.</p><p> This isn't an insult to Ledger; it's a compliment and a plea toremember him as an artist.</p><p> Prior to The Dark Knight, his biggest opening weekend was his breakthrough role in A Knight's Tale way back in 2001. (I'm not counting his supporting turn inThe Patriot since that was clearly Mel Gibson's movie and Ledger was along for the ride.) Most people were not ghoulishly turning out to see The Dark Knight because Ledger had died tragically young.</p><p> They were turning out because the franchise was always a monster draw, the movie wasgetting the best reviews of any Hollywood film so far this year (along with Wall-E ) and the buzz about Ledger's performance (just like the buzz about Jack Nicholson's performance in 1989) wasicing on the cake.</p><p> And don't freak out when the box office drops by 70% or whatever next weekend.</p><p> That's to be expected.</p><p> In fact, the Batman franchise has almost always been about huge opening weekends and quick drop-offs. (I'd say it's because all of the movies -- until now, arguably -- have beenunsatisfying.) Yes, the 1989 edition became the 6th top grossing movie of all time in the US(behind Star Wars, ET, Return of The Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back and Jaws .) But the next two set opening weekend records and yet didn't even come close to breaking into the Top 10 of All-Time Top Grossers.</p><p> Still, with The Dark Knight's nihilism so in tune with a bleak economic forecast and seemingly never-ending war overseas, perhaps this one will turn the tide.</p><p> One boldprognosticator insisted The Dark Knight would NOT beat Titanic 's $600 million record in the US. (That's always a safe bet.) But if it drops by less than 60% in its second weekend, $400 million+ isvery likely and The Dark Knight should put Batman right back in the Top 10 of all time for the first time in 20 years instead of just an opening weekend phenomenon. (Interestingly, the Batmanfranchise has always been a poor draw overseas -- only the hated Batman & Robin grossed more outside the US than in it.</p><p> That could turn around too.) So let's remember Ledger as a talented actor whose best work was ahead of him, not as some sort of perverse trivia question.</p><p> And anyone who is surprised by the opening weekend hysteria for TheDark Knight simply doesn't know their box office history..</p><p> To read more on Huffington about the franchise and Ledger, you can ponder Joshua David Stein'sthoughts on the movie's moral bleakness, catch Alex Remington's rave review, Erik Lundegaard's reappraisal of the earlier flicks (including Batman Forever ), Charles Karel Bouley and Kim Morgan on Ledger's performance, and Hugh Hamilton on the movie's political significance.</p><p> More in Entertainment... "Washington Unplugged" Arianna was on CBS' "Washington...</p><p> Alex Leo The "Real Housewives Of New York City" Flowchart Of Hate I'm a little embarrassed tolove this show as much as... "BRUNO" TRAILER! Calamity, African Babies, ChaseScenes And More (NSFW VIDEO) IT'S HERE! 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Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to View Comments: Newest First Expand All kcampbell See Profile I'm a Fan of kcampbell permalink Well hate to tell you, but...The Dark Knight grossed 24mil..TODAY.</p><p> MONDAY.</p><p> That it all....</p><p> Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Why say "hate to tell you?" Unlike others who make crazy predictions based on a day or two of box office, I said you should look closely at the second weekend numbers.</p><p> It appears(given the terrific box office on Monday) that The Dark Knight might very well drop 60% orless its second weekend, which would mean it is well positioned to become only the 8th film inUS history to gross $400 million+.</p><p> Since it's arguably the best reviewed Hollywood movie ofthe year and I'm a huge fan of Christian Bale, I couldn't be happier for it.</p><p> That doesn't changethe fact that the Batman franchise has traditionally been an opening weekend phenomenonwith no follow-through.</p><p> This looks like the first one since 1989's Batman to be an honest to goodness smash hit.</p><p> Cars Women's Rights Michelle Obama Europe Newspapers Bank Of America War Wire Video Financial Crisis MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » Books by this author A cabin of one's own: New England's MacDowellColony celebrates 100years of artistic utopia.And the gay and lesbianartists who prosperedthere celebrate ... 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FastCompany...</p><p> HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES Related Tags Batman , Batman Reviews , Batman: The Dark Knight , Box Office Grosses , Dark Knight , Et, Heath Ledger , Jack Nicholson , Movies , Star Wars , Titanic Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:22 AM on 07/23/2008 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:30 PM on 07/23/2008This Blogger's Books from Michael Giltz: Dark Knight Mania: It Ain't Heath; It's The Batman http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emdark-knightem-mania-it_b_114145.html [4/5/2009 1:59:46 PM] HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING GREEN STYLE WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY FUNDRACE ARCHIVE Advertise | Login | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Jobs | FAQ: Comments & Moderation | FAQ: Huffpost Accounts | Contact Us Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | Archive | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type You must be logged in to reply to this comment.</p><p> Log in or Ads by Google Top 50 WTF Comic Moments Countdown The Most Outrageous Moments In Comic Book History! www.UGO.com/Comics
