The Dark Knight stands poised to join the very exclusive billion dollar club in Hollywood. Sitting at 997.1 million dollars worldwide, the Dark Knight is about to cross the threshold.
I’m not sure if I will pay 10 dollars to go see the movie again but I definitely bet there are people out there who would.
Studio bossed have announced that they plan on releasing the movie in the U.S. on January 23rd, which is the day after Oscar nominations are announced. They’re hoping the re-release will push the movie past the $1 billion mark.
Exhibitor Relations’ Jeff Bock has speculated that Warner Bros., who are behind the blockbuster, was perhaps waiting for the right moment to spring the announcement of the billion dollar mark.
The only three current members of Hollywood’s billion-dollar club are Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
Dark Knight star Christian Bale thinks the film is a shoe-in for Oscar contention. Ledger is virtually a lock to win the Best Supporting Actor plum.
He says, “The serious contenders in this movie in my mind are Heath, Chris for director because he’s done an extraordinary job, and I do believe Best Picture as well.”
Wow! Bale definitely has faith in his own film! What do you think? Is the Dark Knight good enough to be nominated for Best Picture?
Although serious awards talk for blockbusters of Knight’s magnitude is rare in recent years, the movie had an uncommonly good run with critics, and its prospects follow years of declining viewership for the Academy Awards ceremony often tied to the obscurity of the films that win top awards.
Indeed, the most-watched telecast of the past 30 years aired in 1998, when 55 million people watched to see Titanic—the only movie in history with higher box-office returns than The Dark Knight—win its 11 Academy Awards.
Of course, most Academy voters don’t have a vested interest in raising those ratings, but if Dark Knight did become a contender, it certainly wouldn’t be the first movie to ride the momentum of commercial success to Oscar recognition.
