Speeding Toward the Top

Wow--that was fast. The Dark Knight passed the $400 million barrier on Monday. That's its eighteenth day in release, just one day more than three weekends. With all the various records the movie has been breaking, it goes without saying that this is another one. But what's striking is just how much it blows the last record holder out of the water: Shrek 2 previously reached that milestone in forty-three days. Dark Knight also kept The Mummy 3 out of first place for the weekend, holding on to that distinction for the third week. With Pineapple Express looking to lead the new releases from the coming weekend, I'd say Dark Knight has a good chance to go for Number 1 for the fourth weekend in a row. It's already two-thirds of the way to beating out Titanic for top-grossing domestic film of all time.

Of course, it's not a straight comparison because of inflation. But if you check out Box Office Mojo's chart for all-time grosses, you'll find those figures adjusted for inflation. But by its count, Titanic pulled in $600 million. In 2088 numbers, though, the total for all-time jumps up another $300 million, and Titanic brought in $908 million. (Gone with the Wind remains on top of the adjusted gross list, with $1.43 billion once you add all the rereleases over the years--that's just $1 billion more for Dark Knight to go!)