The Dark Knight = $158.4 million

ComingSoon.net has reported that the final tally for The Dark Knight is actually $158.4 million. This was due to the Sunday estimate actually being higher than they predicted. As far as I can read, The Dark Knight beat all the records across the board as far as 1,2,3 day totals. Sunday total's, midnight total and it also beat the IMAX theater record total.

certain types of numbers sound impressive, but you also have to a take a good, hard look at the data. we're talking about money, which is usually worth less and less as time passes.

box-office "records" will continue to fall year after year, but when you adjust figures for inflation, then it's apparent that movies are making less and less money as home video, cable, the internet, and other diversions chip away at the number of tickets sold (which is a better indicator of attendance than box-office gross since one person is one person no matter what while the price of a ticket can be different depending on the age of the buyer and the buyer's geographical location).

Not only that but where I live its 12 for IMAX, 9 for digital, and 8 for standard.

In regard to what Eddie just said, here's a link to the highest-grossing films of all time, adjusted for inflation (according to Box Office Mojo):

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

Often, people think of "Titanic" as the all-time moneymaker, but adjusted for inflation it's only at number six.

John

To add to what Eddie said you also have to remember that movies now open on many more screens. Then they did years ago. 20 + years ago theaters had maybe one or two screens, which limits showings. Now Multiplexes have 16+ screens. Makes it a lot easier to make a high gross if the movie is playing every half hour as opposed to every three hours.

I think you also have to account for how long a film stays at #1 in the box office. I remember Titantic was the #1 film for several weeks when it was released, and we really have not seen any film sustain that long in the box office in many years. Even with Titantic placing #6, you begin to realize in order to beat the all time high, most likely any movie would have to stay at #1 for at lest six-months or longer. And if there isn't anything worthy for the public to see over & over, it just isn't going to happen. It's too bad "Gone with the Wind" takes the prize because that movie is so freaking long and boring . . . and quite frankly, I don't give a damn!

This is also only North American box office. If you add up the figures worldwide, it would bring Titanic up quite a bit.

Quote:
. I remember Titantic was the #1 film for several weeks when it was released, and we really have not seen any film sustain that long in the box office in many years

Try several months Tim. 3 months at #1 to be exact. No movie in history has ever been #1 for that long, and most likely no movie ever again will reach that plateau.

Does anybody know what other "big" releases there were during Titanic's run at holding #1?

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=titanic.htm

depression,

click on the above link. on that page, click on each weekend to see the movies that opened when "titanic" was in theatres.

eddie

[Post edited by posters5 on Jul 23, 2008]