After an excruciatingly long wait, The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated Batman Begins follow-up, is finally here. The film opens at midnight tonight, with a record number of theatre showings, 4,366 theaters, edging out the record of 4,362 theaters set by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in 2007.
Already, advance ticket sales have sold out for nearly 1,000 showtimes, online ticket seller Fandango said.
The Dark Knight will most likely beat the record debut of Spider-Man 3 in 2007, which reached $151 million in 3 days. In the No. 2 spot of Best Opening Weekend is the $135.6 million debut for 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
“Certainly a $100-plus million opening weekend is in the cards,” said Paul Dergarabedian, who heads box office tracker Media by Numbers. “I cannot imagine a movie that has been more highly anticipated than this one, at least in recent memory.”
The film’s only other competition is the ABBA-based musical, Mamma Mia, starring the indestructible Meryl Streep, which will no doubt open at No. 2 with pretty decent numbers. Also opening is Space Chimps, an animated family-film, which smells like a huge dud to me.
The Dark Knight is easily the most anticipated of this weekend’s films, with Heath Ledger’s performance being deemed Oscar worthy by fans.
So, what do you think? Will The Dark Knight break box-office records with its opening? Comment and let us know.
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