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As “The Dark Knight” took off overseas, Warner Bros. Pictures International became the third major international distributor to surpass $1 billion in foreign boxoffice revenue.

This is the eighth year in a row and the 10th time overall that WBPI has hurdled the industry benchmark.

Warner Bros. said that the Caped Crusader’s opening blast of $40 million from only 20 markets “pushed” the company “over the $1 billion mark in international boxoffice.”

Overcoming the disappointing performance of its early summer tentpole, “Speed Racer,” the company’s other summer releases — the newest Batman entry, “Get Smart” ($65 million) and returns from key selected markets of New Line’s “Sex and the City” — made up for the let down.

Strong contributions came earlier in the year from “I Am Legend” ($210 million in 2008 for total of $328 million), “10,000 BC” ($174 million), “Sweeney Todd” ($100 million), “The Bucket List” ($81 million), and the German film “Keinorhasen,” which took in $49 million in 2008 for a total of $63.5 million.

Paramount Pictures International passed the $1 billion benchmark June 16 and Fox International followed July 8.

Last year, for the first time in industry history, five of the six MPA companies topped $1 billion by the end of July; a sixth studio joined by the end of 2007.

Source:Hollywood Reporter

HEATH LEDGER deserves all the credit for THE DARK KNIGHT’s massive box office haul, according to the movie’s director CHRISTOPHER NOLAN.
Ledger plays The Joker in the movie, the last full film role he completed before his death in January (08) from an accidental drug overdose. And Nolan insists Ledger made the movie a hit.
Speaking at The Dark Knight’s Japanese premiere on Monday (28Jul08), the British filmmaker said, “(He was) what The Joker in our film would need to be.
“(We were) looking for an actor with the fierceness, excitement and teeth to do our version of the Joker.”
Christian Bale, who plays Batman in the record-breaking film, also found time to praise Ledger, telling a press conference, “It’s satisfying to see people celebrating the incredible talent of Heath. I just want him to be recognised.”
In just 10 days since the film’s release in America, The Dark Knight has taken an astonishing $440 million (GBP150 million) at movie theatres worldwide, breaking almost every box office record in the U.S.

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Sorry Spidey, but the Caped Crusader is the new king of the box office.

“The Dark Knight” opened with record-breaking numbers this weekend, taking in an astounding $158.3 million from Friday – Sunday, knocking “Spider-Man 3” from atop the box office record books.

In 2007, the third installment in the Spider-Man franchise opened with $151 million.

But that wasn’t the only record “The Dark Knight” claimed in its opening weekend. In fact, a total of eight records now belong to Batman and friends.

The film, starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, also posted the biggest single day ever at the box office, taking in a whopping $67 million on Friday alone – another record previously held by “Spider-Man 3.”

Here is a complete breakdown of the eight box office records “The Dark Knight” now holds after its opening weekend:

- Largest number of opening theaters with 4,366 (Previous record: “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” opened in 4,362 theaters in 2007).

- Biggest midnight preview gross with $18.4 million in 3,040 theaters (Previous record: “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” and its $16.9 million in 2,915 theaters in 2005).

- Biggest IMAX midnight previews, setting a new record with $640,000 (included in the $18.4 million preview number).

- Biggest single-day gross in box-office history with $67.8 million (Previous record: bests the $59,841,919 set by “Spider-Man 3” in 2007).

-Biggest opening weekend gross in box office history with $158.3 million (Previous record: beats the $151,116 million set by “Spider-Man 3” in 2007).

-Biggest opening weekend gross for an IMAX release in box office history with $6,214,061 million in 94 theaters with $66,107 per theater. (Previous record: $4.7 million set by “Spider-Man 3” in 2007.)

- Biggest opening weekend of 2008 with $158.3 million (Previous record: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” with $101.1 million from May 23-25, 2008)

- Biggest July opening ever (Previous record: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” with $135,634,554 on July 7, 2006).

Source – Access Hollywood

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OK, now that legions of moviegoers are shrieking “Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!” after seeing Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” which category should he enter: lead or supporting?

That’s a tricky Oscar question. On one hand you might think Heath Ledger should go supporting because, technically speaking, “The Dark Knight” is a film about Batman. But come on, Heath Ledger has the big, flashy role — he’s the chief force bearing down on all of the terrifying action — and it’s his spooktacular performance that moviegoers are storming theaters to see.

A good analogy might be Forest Whitaker, who recently won best actor in “Last King of Scotland.” James McAvoy actually had the main role, as measured by the most dialogue and screen time, but his performance as a good doctor was dwarfed, crushed and left trembling in the shadow of his monstrous patient.

The same was true for Denzel Washington, who won best actor for “Training Day.” He had less screen time than costar Ethan Hawke, but Hawke was so overwhelmed by Washington’s performance as a ferocious, corrupt cop that he dutifully ducked into the supporting race and let Washington go lead.

Sometimes it’s the size of the role, emotionally speaking, that determines whether it should be defined as lead or supporting. Sure, Anthony Hopkins only appeared in 22 minutes of “The Silence of the Lambs,” but he won best actor because he gobbled up the scenery, the screen and everything else as Hannibal the Cannibal. Academy members didn’t dare to deny him an Oscar statuette for dessert.

Heath Ledger’s role in “The Dark Knight” is very similar to Hopkins’ in “Lambs,” come to think of it — so creepy that it continues to haunt moviegoers long after they flee theaters, terrified.

However, in terms of traditional category placement, Heath Ledger may have the best shot to win in supporting. When Jack Nicholson played the Joker in “Batman” in 1989, he was nominated in supporting at the Golden Globes (then was snubbed by Oscar voters, strangely).

And traditionally, that’s where the cartoonishly crazy roles are put — Ben Kingsley in “Sexy Beast,” James Coburn in “Affliction.” And speaking of Coburn, that reminds us of another aspect of the supporting race that may apply to Heath Ledger: If he wins an Oscar in February for “The Dark Knight,” it will largely be because Academy voters want to salute an impressive, if brief, career that included a past Oscar nomination (“Brokeback Mountain”).

That qualifies Ledger as a perfect candidate for a veteran achievement award, which is the unofficial nickname of the supporting-actor category when it goes to the likes of Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine,” Martin Landau in “Ed Wood” or Jack Palance in “City Slickers.”

But, wait! Maybe it doesn’t matter what category Heath Ledger lands in, since some Oscarologists believe he’s doomed at the Academy Awards where only one star has ever won from the grave.

Photo: Warner Bros.

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Don’t get carried away with all of the Oscar buzz for Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” that you see in USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, everywhere. Remember: Only one star has won an Oscar from the grave (Peter Finch, “Network”) and roles like the Joker are rarely even nominated.

Maybe this next Oscars factoid may help to put things in more clear perspective. After the beloved Spencer Tracy died in 1967 after giving a dynamic, heartfelt performance in best picture nominee “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” he was widely expected to win best actor, but lost to Rod Steiger (“In the Heat of the Night”). However, Tracy’s de facto widow Katharine Hepburn won best actress for a rather tame turn with little screen time in “Dinner.”

Bottom line: Oscar voters wanted to bestow a hug after losing Tracy, yes — but they just didn’t want to hug the dead guy.

When Peter Finch passed away, the situation was very different from Tracy’s and Ledger’s. The latter stars died more than six months before the Oscarcast. Finch died from a heart attack just two weeks before the Golden Globes while he was actively campaigning to stop that juggernaut Robert DeNiro (“Taxi Driver”), who’d swept the film-critics’ awards. Oscar and Globe voters were still stunned by Finch’s loss when they inked their ballots and they couldn’t resist checking off his name.

Heath Ledger bears a striking similarity to James Dean. Both were heartthrob thespians whose promising careers were cut short by tragedy.  Dean had two posthumous Oscar nominations. The first — for “Giant” — came nearly half a year after Dean died in a car wreck. The next year he was nommed for “East of Eden” and he lost both times.

When Oscar nominations come out next January, Heath Ledger will have been dead for a year. Given all of the Oscar hubbub he’s generating now, I’m sure he’ll be on that list of contenders, but can he really win?

Oscar voters aren’t wild about campy villain roles in popcorn flicks like “Dark Knight.” The only time one got nominated was Al Pacino as Big Boy Caprice in “Dick Tracy” (1990). Jack Nicholson‘s widely celebrated Joker in “Batman” (1989) — the same role now played by Heath Ledger — was nominated for a Golden Globe, but not an Oscar, which is odd considering how nuts academy members are for Jack. (Nicholson holds the records for most nominations and wins among male actors.)

And Oscar voters don’t usually like villainous roles unless the actor rides to victory atop a best-picture sweep like Anthony Hopkins in “The Silence of the Lambs.”

But — wait — that old trend may be changing. Just this past year we saw the trophies for best actor and supporting actor go to stars portraying bloodthirsty monsters: Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem.

And maybe the whole world, even Hollywood, is different today than it was when those other posthumous Oscar examples occurred. If so, then maybe this joker can get the last laugh.

(Warner Bros.)

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