Though final numbers will be revealed Monday-ish, The Dark Knight has been targeted to have hit somewhere around $65 to $66 Million dollars on opening day, and that includes the record breaking midnight show totals. With many theaters reporting grosses hourly, this number is likely not too far off the mark. So, at this juncture, it is fair to say that records have been broken. And that The Dark Knight is on target to have the biggest opening weekend of all time until something bigger opens. Obviously, this record-setting day means that the film is loved by everyone, and that the film is a masterpiece. This would top last year’s Spider-Man 3‘s opening day ($59.8 Million), another film that is now regarded as both better than Citizen Kane and the works of C. Everett Coop and Phillip Marlowe.
If that last bit seems like a bucket of cold water tossed on one’s privates after a pleasant dream involving Kristen Bell in a slave Leia outfit, let me state that I’m not poo-pooing this number or the film, not at all, but merely acknowledging that phenomenons and zeitgeists rarely have anything to do with quality. In fact, an opening day has very little to do with quality as 92.3% of the audience is seeing it for the first time (other than people who bought multiple tickets for opening day. Which is a Friday, so they must be either really rich, or really unemployed. Or drug dealers. Or actors.) That said, everyone at Chud likes the flick, though that’s something that some of the obsessed have not acknowledged (unless only fealty is recognized as the response to this effort). So let’s celebrate a rare time when a good film makes money.
But, as I always say about anything opening-weekend-wise, let’s not forget that what a huge number means is only that a lot of people saw it. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they love it or even like it. A hunky actor who died semi-tragically may have made this must-see more so than a love of Bale or the last film or anything else associated with the project. That Christopher Nolan can likely now get any picture he wants made as long as it’s under $100 Million or so is the real triumph.