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SATURDAY 3PM: Well, look who’s laughing now! Warner Bros, because The Dark Knight‘s Friday opening was even bigger than first thought, as final numbers come in – not just $66.4M but $67+M in North American gross from a record-setting wide release of 4,366 theaters. That includes the record-setting $18.5M in midnight-to-3AM shows from a smaller pool of 3,040 venues. Now Warner Bros has smashed the record for the biggest midnight show ever (better than the $16.9M set by 2005′s Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith then playing in 2,915 venues), and the biggest single day gross ever (better than the $59.8M set by May 4, 2007′s Spider-Man 3 in 4,252 venues, including midnight shows). So what about the weekend total? “$153M to $160M — it all depends on Saturday results,” my Warner Bros insider just told me. That would be ANOTHER record-smasher!
The question is whether Dark Knight goes up or down – and by how much either way. The Saturday number to beat is Spider-Man 3‘s $51.3M, 
which was down 14% from its Friday number. The FSS number to best is Spider-Man 3‘s $151M, including a take of $39.9M on Sunday.
Interestingly, rival studios are hesitant to even venture a guess about the latest Batman installment’s 3-day weekend total. “Saturday business will tell the tale of where this is headed,” one rival studio bigwig stressed to me. Said another, “The hard thing about this movie is you don’t know if all the shows tonight are already sold out, so their number might not move much.”
Here is the way to think about Saturday and the weekend: if you start with $66.4M Friday and back out the $18.5M of midnight shows, then Dark Knight‘s comparable starting point is $47.5M. So if the pic is down 5% from there on Saturday, it would be $45M. If it were 10%, it would be $52M (what it would take to best Spidey 3‘s Saturday record). That is the most likely range for today. But those would be announced as $45M, down 30%, or $52M, down 20%, as they will be compared to the Friday number which included midnight shows. Sunday is likely to drop somewhere between 15%-20% from there. So Dark Knight needs to be $47M-$48M today to set itself up to best the weekend record.
Meanwhile, MovieTickets.com reports that Dark Knight broke the record for tickets sold by a single film in a single day on Friday, surpassing the previous mark set by Spider-Man 3 on May 4, 2007. The site also set a record for the most tickets sold in a single day in the company’s eight-year history. So, yes, believe it or not, there were other movies opening and playing at the box office.
In 2nd place, Universal’s North American debut of its movie version of the globally popular Mamma Mia! musical proved great counter-programming against Batman. It made $9.6M Friday for what should be a 3-day weekend total of $28.1M, better than Hairspray‘s $27.4M and what the studio had expected especially since ABBA was never as big in the U.S. as overseas. Sony’s holdover Hancock sat solidly in 3rd place with a $4.5M Friday from 3,776 plays and what should be a $14M weekend. No. 4 was Warner Bros’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D, which dropped 50% from a week ago for $3.5M Friday. It could probably take in $12M for the weekend. But the surprise was 5th place Hellboy II: The Golden Army‘s 77% fall from grace after finishing a big No 1 last weekend. This Friday, it made only $3.2M for what should be just a $10.3M weekend. Obviously, the Dark Horse comic character lost out to the way-more-famous DC Comics caped crusader. Disney/Pixar’s hit toon Wall-E made $2.9M Friday for probably 6th by weekend’s end with $10M. At No. 7, Starz/Fox’s Space Chimps earned $2.5M today on its way also to $8M. Universal’s Wanted was 8th with $1.5M Friday and probably $5.1M for the weekend. At No. 9, Warner Bros’ Get Smart took in $1.2M Friday for what should be a $4M weekend. And rounding out the Top 10 is disastrous Fox’s Meet Dave with $540K Friday and maybe a $1.8M weekend.
FRIDAY 10:30PM: New numbers show The Dark Knight set a record $65M for Friday.
FRIDAY 5:30PM: Warner Bros sources tell me that The Dark Knight is opening to a humongous $60M today from a widest-ever release of 4,366 North American theaters. 
That’s breathtaking box office gross, even for a mega-blockbuster! So the studio is privately preening that this latest Batman installment has scored the biggest Friday ever, beating Sony’s previous record-setter Spider-Man 3 with $59.8M scored on Friday, May 4th, 2007. What also makes this number so stunning is that the Chris Nolan-directed DC Comics dark drama starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger is not as kid friendly as the comic book caper starring the Marvel webbed hero. Meanwhile, despite all the sell-outs this weekend, seats for The Dark Knight are selling at the astounding rate of 15 tickets per second at big movie ticket service Fandango.com. Clearly the great word of mouth is spreading as well as the rave reviews: 90% positive among cream of the crop critics on RottenTomatoes.com. So far, the only breakdown available for Friday’s box office is a record $18.5M from 12:01 AM showings, including a best-ever $640K for ZIMAX midnight previews.
Meanwhile, Universal sources tell me that the studio’s very early numbers for the 2,976 theaters opening Mamma Mia! made around $9M Friday and is on target to take in $25+M for the entire weekend.
- ‘Dark Knight’ Speeding Towards Records (continuously updated)
- ‘Dark Knight’ Fans Turning Out Dressed Up And In Droves
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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It’s definitely a good movie but I think the widespread talk of it being some kind of immediate milestone within the history of mankind is preposterous. I felt the pacing was very herky-jerky and there were too many tangents in the story which contributed to the needless overlength. I’m also in the extreme minority on Ledger’s Joker portrayal in that I felt it was too gaudy and monotonous; he goes to painstaking lengths in every scene to upstage every co-star in sight with over the top bravado while repeating the same spasmic series of tics and mannerisms that grow tiresome over (screen) time. I honestly thought the best acting work in the film was done by Aaron Eckhart up until his abrupt transformation, the ease of which I didn’t entirely buy into since it seemed like it was so awkwardly rushed and hastily crammed in. I guess I maybe would’ve been able to enjoy myself more during this and I could’ve set my nitpicking cap aside without having my prism of perception affected by the tsunami of overwhelming fangeek hype that left restraint and perspective in its wake way before the entire dimension of the film’s release was altered by HL’s tragic passing. As far as summer 2008 movies go I think this was decidedly superior to lame crap like Indy, Happening, Hulk and Hancock but not up to snuff with the likes of Iron Man, Speed Racer (the Blade Runner of kid movies!), Wanted and Hellboy. For all the talk of TDK reinvigorating the superhero movie I think Iron Man beat them to that punch because even though it was more formulaic, the execution of the formula was pulled off more entertainingly and cohesively. And if Heath Ledger is a lock for an Oscar nomination Robert Downey Jr. should be as well.
Not complaining at all ….. Just curious how it compares to other ticket sales????? …..When movies used to cost $5 $8 $10. I know it made a lot of money but how many more people are actually seeing it?
“Mae”: Yes, I think it would. Ledger’s death is a small curiosity added onto an already very highly-anticipated, very highly-buzzed about, very highly-reviewed picture.
I, too, think Saturday and Sunday could be as big as Friday — this is coming from someone who is an example of a person who avoided the midnight showings, Friday, and will probably avoid Saturday, because of the likelihood of complete sellouts far ahead of time, and will probably attend Sunday or Monday for the *first* time. And I’d expect that there are a *lot* more out there like me.
Bad WOM, “too dark”? I haven’t heard it, at all!
This thing is massive.
Just got back from seeing TDK. Very good. My only complaint? I don’t see how the inevitable Batman 3 can live up.
Here’s to hoping Batman can take down Spider-man!
The movie was the best movie ive seen in a really long time, the plot was awesome! heath legder diffintaly deserves the oscar his perfomace was un forgetable! probably my favorite movie!
I’m slightly off-topic here, but I’d like to point out that the contract the AMPTP is offering SAG is worth “250 million ” over the course of 3 years. That’s to hundreds of THOUSANDS of actors.
So roughly what Batman will gross this week-end?
For 3 YEARS?
For hundreds of thousands of actors?
Does that seem fair to you?
Peggy Lane O’Rourke
Yes Peggy ………. off topic.
Great movie. What I find absurd is all this talk about millions and records and bullshit, when it does not refer to tickets sold but to dollars cashed. Box office should always refer to tickets sold, to actual viewers. Otherwise inflation and increased price of tickets completely distort the picture and actually renders the debate senseless. Please, Nikki, if anybody can bring back common sense to all this endless talk of record-openings in studioese is you.
Holy smoke!
I am bamboozled! No matter if Sat’s gross is lower than Friday, DK is a winner already in my books.
I totally agree with Peggy Lane O’Rourke. The same AMPTP that wouldn’t give SAG or WGA what it wanted is making tons of money this weekend off of a movie, thanks to, in part, to writers and actors.
So let’s celebrate the Studio getting some money. But let’s forget that the non-marquee actors won’t get as much as they should.
And AMEN to MICK – let’s please start reporting tickets sold. Because movies that made less than Spiderman 3 (Jaws) should be recognized as the hits they were when tickets (and the consumer index) were mch less than they are today.
A skewed view of history, folks. A skewed view.
Good for you, Peggy!! You are keeping your eye on the ball. Don’t let all the hoopla distract from the real news in Hollywood. Keep up the good fight!
So do the very simple math, mick. Average ticket prices are about $12. Division is not that difficult.
the Joker is laughing all the way to the bank:)
Well, people may still be hyped and fawning over TDK but I have forgotten it already. Bring on Spiderman 4.
Comics books for adults? This business is lame.