The Dark Knight sets global opening box office record

The Dark Knight slew the opposition at the US and worldwide box-offices this week, with total ticket sales reaching close to $200m (£100m).In the US, Christopher Nolan's second Batman movie reached the No 1 spot in its opening week with $155m, beating the weekend opening record set by Spider-Man 3 in May 2007 with $151m. According to reports, numerous screenings sold out weeks ago, with film fans waiting hours in long lines to enter cinemas. Some venues even added shows at 3am and 6am on Saturday morning to cope with demand.The caped crusader’s latest outing beat expectations, with studio predictions tipping it to earn $100m in its opening week. It is now believed it could earn as much as $220m in its first week – more than the entire run of Batman Begins, Nolan’s first Batman film.

According to Variety, the movie’s success is “due in part to the death of Heath Ledger, who stars as the creepiest Joker yet,” and received, along with his co-stars, rave reviews for his performance. Some observers believe the Brokeback Mountain actor could even earn an award at the Oscars in next February. It’s gone down well with the audience too – the readers of imdb.com have already voted it the best movie ever made, ahead of The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption.

Outside America, The Dark Knight collected just $40m in 20 countries, becoming the number one film at the worldwide box-office. But is widely expected to earn more money as it has yet to be released in numerous countries. This week, it topped the box offices in Mexico and Australia, Ledger’s native country. The Dark Knight opens in the UK on Friday.