Christian Bale Nadia Chaudhury

Dark Knight's Sales Are Bright--But Things Don't Look as Good for Gotham

The Dark Knight, the newest Batman movie which will be released Friday at midnight, has created the biggest pre-ordering stir in cinema since the release of Star Wars Episode III-Revenge of the Sith, and at the rate sales are going, many expect it to create a new sales record, says movie site Fandango.

The plot, which reintroduces the Joker, played by Heath Ledger in his final performance before an early, tragic death, brings the heightened sense of darkness ever-present in a graphic novel even stronger to the screen. Rick Butler, chief operating officer of Fandango remarked in an interview with Market Watch that “The late Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker marks one of those rare occurrences where an actor’s Oscar-worthy performance coincides with certain box office success.”

Ledger, who prepared for his role by living alone in a hotel room for over a month cultivating his performance and rereading Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, the first a comic issue that deals with the psychological struggle between Batman and the Joker, the other, a graphic novel that features the many foes of Batman after taking over an insane asylum.

The Dark Knight is a reintroduction of the struggle between The Joker’s quest to undue the city of Gotham in a tsunami of crime whilst billionaire superhero Batman does his best to protect his assets (and the innocents of the city). This time, though, he has with the help of a state of the art bat suit, and a moral dignity no working stiff man could ever conjure.
Director and co-writer Christopher Nolan shot many of the action sequences with an i-Max camera, meaning soon the suspense can be viewed on the larger-than-life screen its superpowers warrant.

The Dark Knight is guaranteed to be playing at pretty much every cinema in the universe. My recommendation—either splurge for the iMax or go to the multiplex. A quick view of the trailer gave me enough goosepimples to know if I want the full-bodied, panic stricken, super world experience, it needs to come with overpriced popcorn, a soda so big that I have to ignore nature calling me to the bathroom, and, of course, stadium seating.