Beaks here...

It's simple, really. THE DARK KNIGHT is currently $77 million shy of TITANIC's all-time-best $600 million domestic take. On January 22nd, 2009, the nominees for the 2009 Academy Awards will be announced. Clearly, Warner Bros. is confident that a) THE DARK KNIGHT will be one of the five Best Picture nominees, and b) the ensuing excitement amongst fans will be enough to drive them back to the theater for one last celebratory screening. At the end of this second run, once you factor in those inflated IMAX admissions, another $77 million might be possible. $1 billion worldwide, on the other hand, is guaranteed (it's only $4 million shy at the moment).

I'm a huge sports fan, so I can't ridicule comic book geeks for having a rooting interest in something they didn't personally create. Besides, if THE DARK KNIGHT does earn a Best Picture nomination (and I honestly think it's a fait accompli at this point), don't the geeks deserve a little bit (if not a lot) of credit for seeing the artistic potential in the medium before anyone else? I completely understand the personal investment. If you'd told me twenty years ago that a superhero movie would be nominated for Best Picture, I would've set your house on fire and framed you for murder.

As for $600 million, I don't see it happening. UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS is also opening on the January 23rd, and that will siphon off a significant portion of THE DARK KNIGHT's repeat business. Either way, I'm happy for the Nolans. They're two of the smartest guys working in Hollywood. I can't wait to see what they do in the interim (Chris could move forward with THE PRISONER, while Jonathan is writing the Kip Thorne-inspired INTERSTELLAR for Steven Spielberg).

Here's the press release:

“THE DARK KNIGHT” RETURNS TO THE BIG SCREEN ON JANUARY 23RD

THE WIDELY ACCLAIMED HIT WILL BE RE-RELEASED IN THEATRES AND IMAX.

BURBANK, CA, December 4, 2008 – Warner Bros. Pictures is bringing “The Dark Knight” back for a return engagement in theatres and IMAX on January 23, 2009, giving audiences one more chance to see the film on the big screen. The film will re-open nationwide, it was announced today by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution.

In making the announcement, Fellman stated, “‘The Dark Knight’ is a crowning achievement in every sense of the word. We wanted to provide one more opportunity for moviegoers to experience it on the big screen as it was meant to be seen.”

One of the most celebrated and successful films of this or any year, “The Dark Knight” has been hailed by both critics and audiences since its original release last July. The film garnered widespread acclaim for its artistic and technical achievements, including the work of its outstanding cast and its director, Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Christopher Nolan (“Memento”).

Led by Christian Bale, reprising his role from “Batman Begins,” and Academy Award® nominee Heath Ledger (“Brokeback Mountain”), the ensemble cast also includes Academy Award® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”), Gary Oldman (the “Harry Potter” films), Aaron Eckhart (“Thank You for Smoking”), Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Stranger than Fiction”), and Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”).

In addition, critics and moviegoers alike applauded Nolan’s revolutionary use of IMAX cameras to film some of the most challenging action sequences ever created—a first for a major feature film.

Nolan directed “The Dark Knight” from a screenplay written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan produced the film, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers.

Collaborating with Nolan behind the scenes were two-time Oscar®-nominated director of photography Wally Pfister (“The Prestige,” “Batman Begins”), Oscar®-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley (“The Prestige”), Oscar®-nominated editor Lee Smith (“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”) and Oscar®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“Topsy-Turvy”). The music is by Oscar® winner and multiple Oscar® nominee Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King,” “Gladiator”) and seven-time Oscar® nominee James Newton Howard (“Michael Clayton,” “The Fugitive”), who previously collaborated on the score for “Batman Begins.”

Originally released on July 18, 2008, “The Dark Knight” broke virtually every possible box office record to become the top-grossing film of 2008 and the second-highest grossing movie (domestically) of all time.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Christopher Nolan film. “The Dark Knight,” is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

“The Dark Knight” is distributed worldwide in theatres and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The film has been rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of violence and some menace.”

- wbp -