Category: Batman

The Dark Knight falls in December
At the end of the year, Warner will release the undisputed box office champ of the last few years when The Dark Knight arrives on DVD and Blu-ray.
The film will arrive in Dolbt TrueHD and 1080p VC-1 on Blu-ray and anamorphic widescreen on DVD. As mentioned many months ago, the film will change aspect ratios slightly during playback to accommodate the scenes filmed for IMAX.
Extras include Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a scene, Batman Tech – The Incredible Gadgets and Tools, Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight, six episodes of Gotham Tonight, art galleries, trailers and TV Spots. This will also be Warner’s first BD-Live title.
The discs will be available individually, or as part of a gift set which includes a replica of the Batpod.
All will arrive during the night on December 9th.

‘Dark Knight’ sets weekend record with $155.34M
LOS ANGELES (AP) ó Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood’s box-office superheroes.
“The Dark Knight” took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, topping the previous best of $151.1 million for “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007 and pacing Hollywood to its biggest weekend ever, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released “The Dark Knight.” The movie should shoot past the $200 million mark by the end of the week, he said.
Hollywood set an overall revenue record of $253 million for a three-day weekend, beating the $218.4 million haul over the weekend of July 7, 2006, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
“This weekend is such a juggernaut,” said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, whose musical “Mamma Mia!” debuted at No. 2 with $27.6 million.
Factoring in higher admission prices, “Spider-Man 3” may have sold slightly more tickets than “The Dark Knight.”
At 2007’s average price of $6.88, “Spider-Man 3” sold 21.96 million tickets over opening weekend. Media By Numbers estimates today’s average movie prices at $7.08, which means “The Dark Knight” would have sold 21.94 million tickets.
Revenue totals for “The Dark Knight” could change when final numbers are released Monday.
The movie’s release was preceded by months of buzz and speculation over the performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, Batman’s nemesis. Ledger, who died in January from an accidental prescription-drug overdose, played the Joker as a demonic presence, his performance prompting predictions that the role might earn him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.
“The average opening gross of the last five `Batman’ movies is $47 million. This tripled that, and for a reason,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. “A big part of that was the Heath Ledger mystique and a phenomenal performance that absolutely deserves the excitement surrounding it.”
“The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan with his “Batman Begins” star Christian Bale, whose vigilante crime-fighter is taunted and tested by Ledger’s Joker as the villain unleashes violence and chaos on the city of Gotham.
Overseas, “The Dark Knight” added $40 million in 20 countries where it began opening Wednesday, including Australia, Mexico and Brazil. The film opens in Great Britain this weekend and rolls out to most of the rest of the world over the next few weeks.
“The Dark Knight,” which cost $185 million to make, also broke the “Spider-Man 3” record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. “Spider-Man 3” opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.
“Every single show is sold out,” said Greg Foster, IMAX chairman and president. “We’re adding shows as much as we can, but we’re at 100 percent capacity.”
On opening day Friday, “The Dark Knight” also took in more money than previously counted, Fellman said. The film pulled in a record $67.85 million, up nearly $1.5 million from the studio’s estimates a day earlier.
The previous opening-day record also had been held by “Spider-Man 3” with $59.8 million.
Women accounted for most of the audience for “Mamma Mia!”, which Universal opened as counter-programming to the male-dominated audience for “The Dark Knight.”
“With the crowded summer, we knew we would have to find the right weekend, and this seemed like the perfect one considering three-quarters of our audience was female,” Rocco said.
Based on the stage musical set to the tunes of ABBA, “Mamma Mia!” features Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.
The weekend’s other new wide release, 20th Century Fox’s animated family flick “Space Chimps,” opened at No. 7 with $7.4 million.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “The Dark Knight,” $155.34 million.
2. “Mamma Mia!”, $27.6 million.
3. “Hancock,” $14 million.
4. “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” $11.9 million.
5. “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” $10 million.
6. “WALL-E,” $9.8 million.
7. “Space Chimps,” $7.4 million.
8. “Wanted,” $5.1 million.
9. “Get Smart,” $4.1 million.
10. “Kung Fu Panda,” $1.8 million.

‘Dark Knight’ sets box office record
LOS ANGELES – Nothing dark about Batman’s first night at the box office.
“The Dark Knight” lit up cash registers during its midnight debut, stealing away with a record $18.5 million from 3,040 theatres, distributor Warner Bros. said Friday.
That bested the 2005 performance of “Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith,” which took in $16.9 million during its midnight debut in 2,915 venues.
“The Dark Knight” figure did not include any of its 3 a.m. or 6 a.m. showings.
And while Batman only strikes at night, all indications are that “The Dark Knight” will keep landing blows. Advance ticket sales were booming. Cineplex Entertainment in Canada said advance sales set a new record this week for its theatres at about $1 million.
The early numbers mean “The Dark Knight” will likely join the ranks of 10 other films that debuted on non-holiday weekends and cleared more than $100 million from Friday to Sunday, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC.
“There is an unbelievable demand for this movie,” he said. “The Heath Ledger factor is a major part of this. Beyond that, the movie is so good, it’s worthy of all these accolades.”
The movie directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Batman cost $185 million to make, excluding money spent marketing, Fellman said.
Critics have heaped praise on the movie – especially the late Heath Ledger’s turn as the Joker, which has already generated whispers of a posthumous Oscar nomination.
“We’re very proud of the film,” said Dan Fellman, Warner’s head of distribution. “It’s the magic of the movie business, how one film just stands out above the others.”

‘Batman Begins’ Sets Record for IMAX
The IMAX 2-D version of Warner Bros.’ Batman Begins generated $14.5 million worldwide, making it the biggest gross for a 2-D Hollywood title ever exhibited by the giant-screen company. The previous record holder was The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience, which produced $14 million in total ticket sales.

New details for Batman Begins
A single disc and two disc version of Batman Begins are both coming from Warner Home Entertainment.
Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight’s emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents’ murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.
The single disc version looks to contain no extras, save for some DVD-ROM content.
The two disc version contains eight documentaries, character and gadget based featurettes, an interactive comic, theatrical trailers, a photo gallery, easter eggs, the DVD-ROM features. Also included are reprintings of three Batman comics that influenced the creation of the film.
The one and two disc versions will both be available on October 18th for $28.98 and $30.97 respectively.

‘Batman’ film tallies $15 mln in Wednesday debut
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Batman Begins” turned in a solid $15 million of ticket sales in its Wednesday debut, but box office watchers said it was too soon to know if the film about the origins of the comic-book crime fighter can turn around Hollywood’s lackluster summer.
Box office tracker boxofficemojo.com put “Batman Begins” at No. 11 on its list of top Wednesday debuts in the United States and Canada. But the movies preceding it included titles like “Spider-Man 2” and “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
Those titles are sequels to major hits with loyal fans. “Batman Begins,” which explores the transformation of Bruce Wayne from angry young billionaire to masked avenger, seeks to resurrect a film franchise that nearly died out after 1997’s “Batman & Robin” disappointed fans.
“It’s perhaps too early to tell whether it will be a huge hit or not, but it’s certainly a popular picture,” said Brandon Gray, president of boxofficemojo.com.
Critics have for the most part liked “Batman Begins,” and U.S. and Canadian box offices need a lift.
Although some movies like last week’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” debuted well, others like “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Cinderella Man” have failed to catch fire with audiences.
Overall ticket sales through last weekend compared to the same period in 2004 were down for the 16th consecutive week.
The movie industry is hoping that “Batman Begins,” which will be followed in coming weeks by adventures “War of the Worlds” and “Fantastic 4,” will be the start of a rebound.
“(‘Batman’) could lead to our first up weekend in a long time,” Gray said, “but an overall recovery will depend on the strength of the movies down the road.”
A spokeswoman for the Warner Bros., which released “Batman Begins,” said the studio was happy with the Wednesday debut.

Bale Gives Us Dark Evolution of ‘Batman’
“Your anger gives you great power √≥ but if you let it, it will destroy you.” Advice from the manipulative Chancellor Palpatine to malleable Anakin Skywalker, as the young Jedi teeters on the edge of becoming Darth Vader in the most recent “Star Wars” prequel? Close.
Those words of warning actually come from the mysterious mentor to Bruce Wayne, the industrial heir on the verge of embracing his own dark side for the sake of good and transforming himself into Batman in “Batman Begins.”
Although we all know which came first in this chicken-and-egg scenario, comparisons between these summer blockbusters are inevitable, as both reveal the back stories of iconic pop-culture figures.
Some of the same sorts of revelations that give “Revenge of the Sith” a sense of geeky adolescent wonder surface here, too: the joy of discovering how Bruce (
Christian Bale) develops the Batcave, the Batsuit and the Batmobile (rendered here like a gas-guzzling Hummer, nothing like the sleek Corvette-style Batmobile in which Michael Keaton tooled around the streets of Gotham back in 1989).
But except for a few quips from the formidable supporting cast ó including
Michael Caine as an ideal Alfred the butler and
Morgan Freeman as Bruce’s equivalent of Q from the James Bond films √≥ “Batman Begins” is suffocatingly self-serious. And to continue the comparison, that only makes “Sith” look superior.
Yes, the Dark Knight is supposed to be a tormented soul, having witnessed his parents’ murder and used that guilt and anger as the inspiration for his nighttime forays into vigilante justice. You won’t find any nipples in the Batsuit here, which should appease the purists who were appalled by the Joel Schumacherization of the franchise with “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin” in the mid-1990s.
But at least Schumacher (and Tim Burton more successfully before him) put their own directorial stamps on their films. It’s hard to tell that “Batman Begins” began with Christopher Nolan, the mastermind behind “Memento,” one of the most inventive films in recent memory.
As director and co-writer (with David S. Goyer, who also wrote the “Blade” movies based on the comic books), Nolan takes an admirable stab at developing a character-driven drama, only to give in to generic action-movie conventions with a blinding, deafening, explosion-laden finale that could have capped off any number of interchangeable Jerry Bruckheimer flicks.
There are also some surprising inconsistencies throughout the script, such as the jarring morning-after-the-destruction scene, and the fact that Bruce is presumed dead for seven years while secretly training to become Batman (Liam Neeson plays his mentor, yet another “Star Wars” reminder), and no one is shocked to see him alive and well when he returns to save Gotham from crime and corruption.
Then again, this Batman isn’t exactly a live wire himself. While Bale is beautiful, chiseled and self-possessed, he has a steely detachment behind his eyes √≥ a quality that served him well in the starring role in “American Psycho,” but renders him almost passionless here.
But the weakest link of all is Katie Holmes as Bruce’s childhood friend and vague love interest, Rachel Dawes. Part of the problem is that this is a man’s world √≥ at least it will be until Catwoman shows up in a couple of episodes √≥ so her role is underdeveloped, and part of the problem is the casting itself. It is simply too difficult to accept the former “Dawson’s Creek” star, with her exceedingly youthful good looks and little-girl voice, as a tough-as-nails assistant district attorney who represents one of the last bastions of morality in this decaying urban cesspool.
Speaking of Nolan’s Gotham, with help from cinematographer Wally Pfister (who also shot “Memento” and Nolan’s “Insomnia”), it is a visually striking mixture of images. It’s almost Chicago, only a little slicker and a little grittier at the same time.
But another of the film’s attempts at relevance √≥ a threat of foreign terrorists spreading poison through the city’s water supply to create massive communal panic √≥ comes off as a clunky reflection of real-life homeland security concerns.
It’s a little too tabloid- and cable-news-ready for a character, and a story, that are timeless.
“Batman Begins,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic element. Running time: 137 minutes. Two stars out of four.