Post by /\/\att on Feb 5, 2009 7:37:58 GMT -5
Legions of Gotham was quoted back in July in "B", a Baltimore newspaper.
Batman’s no joke
by Jordan Bartel July 21, 2008
By 3:30 p.m. Friday, Batman fever had hit Frederick.
After Regal Westview Cinemas’ early afternoon showing, one punctuated by gasps and nervous laughter at Heath Ledger’s Joker antics, there was a long round of applause. Half the filmgoers didn’t get out of their seats at the end.
They wanted more.
But as they finally left, they saw a sea of Batman T-shirts and a girl with her eyes blacked-out in Batman style waiting for the 6 p.m. showing.
At 3:30 Saturday, Flagship Cinemas in Churchville was full of eager — and excited — moviegoers who shouted “Wow!” or “Oh s—!” when there was an explosion, fight scene or particularly cruel Joker action.
By 8:10 p.m. Saturday, the fever had spread to the Majestic Theatre in Silver Spring. That screening also had a standing ovation. Afterward, two girls cried together, exclaiming how “His [Heath Ledger’s] performance [as the Joker] was so amazing.”
These local fans clearly weren’t alone. Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood’s box-office superheroes.
“The Dark Knight” took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, topping the previous best of $151.1 million for “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007 and pacing Hollywood to its biggest weekend ever, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released “The Dark Knight.” The movie should shoot past the $200 million mark by the end of the week, he said.
Revenue totals for “The Dark Knight” could change when final numbers are released today.The movie’s release was preceded by months of buzz and speculation over the performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, Batman’s nemesis. Ledger, who died in January from an accidental prescription-drug overdose, played the Joker as a demonic presence, his performance prompting predictions that the role might earn him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.
“The average opening gross of the last five ‘Batman’ movies is $47 million. This tripled that, and for a reason,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. “A big part of that was the Heath Ledger mystique and a phenomenal performance that absolutely deserves the excitement surrounding it.”
On opening day Friday, “The Dark Knight” pulled in a record $67.85 million, up nearly $1.5 million from the studio’s estimates a day earlier. The previous opening-day record also had been held by “Spider-Man 3” with $59.8 million. “The Dark Knight,” which cost $185 million to make, also broke the “Spider-Man 3” record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. “Spider-Man 3” opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.
“Every single show is sold out,” said Greg Foster, IMAX chairman and president. “We’re adding shows as much as we can, but we’re at 100 percent capacity.
”While critics are taking the film seriously enough to suggest Ledger could be in line for an Academy Award nomination, the action-packed movie also delivers as pure summer movie escapism.
“If you’re worried about mortgage payments and gas prices, when you’re sitting in ‘The Dark Knight’ for two and a half hours, you’re not thinking about any of that stuff,” Dergarabedian said.
And fan reaction has been enthusiastic.
“I’m here to tell you, friends, that this movie not only lives up to the hype … it exceeds it,” posted Matt on fan site Legions Of Gotham, who said he went into a screening skeptical, but that the film “swept me off my feet.”
At Batmanfanfilms.com, the forum postings starting pouring in after midnight Friday screenings. Poster Dash Madden caught the film at a midnight showing, then saw it at IMAX and at a regular theater Friday.
Several posters called seeing the film the best night of their lives.“Stomps the Burton movies into the ground, and tops batman begins by leaps and bounds,” wrote one poster. “I just [can’t] imagine there ever being a more perfect batman movie.” {AP and B staff}
Batman’s no joke
by Jordan Bartel July 21, 2008
By 3:30 p.m. Friday, Batman fever had hit Frederick.
After Regal Westview Cinemas’ early afternoon showing, one punctuated by gasps and nervous laughter at Heath Ledger’s Joker antics, there was a long round of applause. Half the filmgoers didn’t get out of their seats at the end.
They wanted more.
But as they finally left, they saw a sea of Batman T-shirts and a girl with her eyes blacked-out in Batman style waiting for the 6 p.m. showing.
At 3:30 Saturday, Flagship Cinemas in Churchville was full of eager — and excited — moviegoers who shouted “Wow!” or “Oh s—!” when there was an explosion, fight scene or particularly cruel Joker action.
By 8:10 p.m. Saturday, the fever had spread to the Majestic Theatre in Silver Spring. That screening also had a standing ovation. Afterward, two girls cried together, exclaiming how “His [Heath Ledger’s] performance [as the Joker] was so amazing.”
These local fans clearly weren’t alone. Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood’s box-office superheroes.
“The Dark Knight” took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, topping the previous best of $151.1 million for “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007 and pacing Hollywood to its biggest weekend ever, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released “The Dark Knight.” The movie should shoot past the $200 million mark by the end of the week, he said.
Revenue totals for “The Dark Knight” could change when final numbers are released today.The movie’s release was preceded by months of buzz and speculation over the performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, Batman’s nemesis. Ledger, who died in January from an accidental prescription-drug overdose, played the Joker as a demonic presence, his performance prompting predictions that the role might earn him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.
“The average opening gross of the last five ‘Batman’ movies is $47 million. This tripled that, and for a reason,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. “A big part of that was the Heath Ledger mystique and a phenomenal performance that absolutely deserves the excitement surrounding it.”
On opening day Friday, “The Dark Knight” pulled in a record $67.85 million, up nearly $1.5 million from the studio’s estimates a day earlier. The previous opening-day record also had been held by “Spider-Man 3” with $59.8 million. “The Dark Knight,” which cost $185 million to make, also broke the “Spider-Man 3” record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. “Spider-Man 3” opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.
“Every single show is sold out,” said Greg Foster, IMAX chairman and president. “We’re adding shows as much as we can, but we’re at 100 percent capacity.
”While critics are taking the film seriously enough to suggest Ledger could be in line for an Academy Award nomination, the action-packed movie also delivers as pure summer movie escapism.
“If you’re worried about mortgage payments and gas prices, when you’re sitting in ‘The Dark Knight’ for two and a half hours, you’re not thinking about any of that stuff,” Dergarabedian said.
And fan reaction has been enthusiastic.
“I’m here to tell you, friends, that this movie not only lives up to the hype … it exceeds it,” posted Matt on fan site Legions Of Gotham, who said he went into a screening skeptical, but that the film “swept me off my feet.”
At Batmanfanfilms.com, the forum postings starting pouring in after midnight Friday screenings. Poster Dash Madden caught the film at a midnight showing, then saw it at IMAX and at a regular theater Friday.
Several posters called seeing the film the best night of their lives.“Stomps the Burton movies into the ground, and tops batman begins by leaps and bounds,” wrote one poster. “I just [can’t] imagine there ever being a more perfect batman movie.” {AP and B staff}