Will the Bat sink the Titanic?
July 28th, 2008 at 03:52pm Will Pfeifer
It’s possible, according to a story that made the AP wire today.
THE DARK KNIGHT earned a whopping $75.6 million over its second weekend, giving it an even more whopping $314.2 million for its first 10 days, setting a record for the fastest film ever to top the $300 million mark.
Warner Bros. predicts THE DARK KNIGHT will top the $400 million mark in 18 days, and the AP story quotes Warner exec Dan Fellman as saying, “I don’t know how far beyond that we can go, but certainly $500 million seems within reach.”
That, my friends, is big money, even in this era of $100 million-plus opening weekends. It tops the second highest-grossing movie of all time (my beloved STAR WARS, which stands at the $461 million mark) and puts THE DARK KNIGHT in sight of the all-time champ, TITANIC, which stands on top with $601 million.
Coming up in the next few weeks are that MUMMY sequel, Kevin Costner’s SWING VOTE, the war movie spoof TROPIC THUNDER and the dopey action comedy PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. Some of them look pretty good (especially TROPIC THUNDER), but none of them look like the sort of movie that’s likely to knock Batman off his perch. All the other comic book and big adventure-type movies — IRON MAN, THE HULK, HELLBOY, INDIANA JONES, etc — have already arrived in theaters, and the only one people seem to be talking about is THE DARK KNIGHT.
Heck, I finally saw it Saturday night, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
Entry Filed under: Summer movies, Movie news
3 Comments Add your own
1. Brian M | July 28th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I’d say Dark Knight all but has a lock on the #2 spot, but it will not surpass Titanic. Two reasons:
1) The industry has changed, most especially the home video industry. Dark Knight is already expected to be on DVD by November or December, in time for Christmas. People know it will come relatively soon, so they may be less likely to see it as many times in the theater (maybe only 3 times instead of 8), When Titanic came out on home video, it was almost a full year after its theatrical release. If people wanted to see it again in those first 9 or 10 months, it meant another trip to the theater. And even when it DID come out, it was not immediately released on DVD, just VHS, So the only way to get best quality was more theatrical viewings. The rise of DVD/home theater and the shortening of theatrical windows has all but killed the chances any film will see that kind of longevity or box office.
2) Titanic’ didn’t have huge weekends, just amazing longevity. It’s success came from equal parts 4-quadrant appeal (old, young, males, females) and the massive repeat business, driven largely by younger females. That Titanic/Leonardo DiCaprio mania at the time fueled those girls to see it over and over and over and over. THAT audience is what pushed it from being just a mega-blockbuster to being the #1 movie of all time. Think about this demographic: these are the girls who dial their phones for 2 to 4 hours straight in support of their favorite American Idol. These are the girls who make High School Musical the phenomenon it is. They are an obsessive bunch, and they drove Titanic to the stratosphere it reached (at today’s prices, it would be about $900M).
Dark Knight will be huge, but I’m afraid #1 is out of reach (until ticket prices climb much higher, and Titanic is passed strictly in $$).
2. John N | July 29th, 2008 at 6:28 am
Plus the makers of THE DARK KNIGHT didn’t have the foresight to have Celine Dion sing a great hit for the end credits! LOL
Seriouslt though, I agree with Brian, especially his second point about the demographics.
but I bet THE DARK KNIGHT will get record sales in BluRay. I don’t see the HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL audience clamoring for the hi def technology like the geeky DARK KNIGHT audience will.
3. Will Pfeifer | July 29th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Brian, those are some very astute points. You’re especially right about the longevity. I can still remember checking the box office week after week after week, with TITANIC safely on top for months. Sometimes it seemed like it would always be there.
And John, you’re right about Blu-Ray. Hell, I might even get a player by then, and if so, I’ll definitely buy it.
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