“The Dark Knight” is pulling in some serious cash at the box-office this weekend.
The chances for the Batman sequel to break the opening-weekend record set by 2007’s “Spider-Man 3″ are getting better and better.
Warner Bros. says the Batman sequel set a single-day box-office record by laughing up $66.4 million on Friday, according to an Associated Press story.
That huge haul exceeds the previous record of $59.8 million, which Spidey 3 set last summer on the way to its record-setting $151.1 million take over its opening weekend.
That makes two box-office records the Batman movie has nabbed so far. The midnight Friday screenings of “The Dark Knight” grabbed a record $18.5 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
That broke the record set by 2005’s “Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” which took in $16.9 million in its midnight debut.
Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman told the AP that the untimely death of Heath Ledger and the buzz about his frenetic - and possibly award-worthy - performance as the Joker are just feeding all the excitement surrounding the sequel.
Even before Ledger’s passing in January, the follow-up to the outstanding “Batman Begins” already was highly anticipated, since it reunites director Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.
As widely praised as it was by fans, critics and movie-goers, “Batman Begins” can’t begin to compare to the frenzy surrounding its sequel. According to the AP, the opening-day grosses for “The Dark Knight” have already surpassed the entire opening-weekend take for “Batman Begins.” The 2005 film made $48.7 million in its first three days in theaters.
For more on “The Dark Knight,” go to www.newsok.com/batman.
- BAM