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The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger's Batman movie smashes box office = records=20
The Dark Knight, the new Batman film, has set a record at the = US box=20 office, smashing the opening-weekend high of last year's Spiderman = 3 to=20 take more than $155 million in its first three days.
Described as the year's most anticipated film, the superhero sequel = from=20 English filmmaker Christopher Nolan attracted sell-out audiences at a = record=20 number of cinemas across the US. Many hosted round-the-clock screenings = from=20 midnight on Thursday to accommodate crowds, some of whom showed up = dressed as=20 characters from the film.
Warner Bros said the $180 million production, which co-stars the late = Heath=20 Ledger as the Joker, was set to take $155.3 million in ticket sales, = surpassing=20 Sony's Spiderman 3 which made $151.1 million in its debut weekend = last=20 May.
The film's extraordinary debut suggests it could be on course to = become the=20 most lucrative comic book adaptation in history. It also demonstrates = how=20 central the once-niche genre now is to Hollywood, with major studios=20 increasingly looking to the heroes and villains of hand-drawn strips to = provide=20 a stream of box office hits.
The Dark Knight, which opens in the UK this week, takes to = five the=20 number of comic book or graphic novel-based films that have dominated = the box=20 office in recent weeks, together generating more than a half a billion = dollars=20 in the US alone.
It comes hard on the heels of Universal's blockbuster Iron = Man, which=20 has made more than $313 million in the US and $565 million worldwide, as = well as=20 recent releases Hellboy II, The Incredible Hulk and = Wanted,=20 based on Scottish author Mark Millar's graphic novel.
Sequels to this year's hits are already planned and dozens more comic = book-based offerings are in the pipeline.
"They have become Hollywood's safety nets," said Jeff Bock, of box = office=20 analysts Exhibitor Relations, who estimates comic book releases could = account=20 for up to a fifth of box office receipts this year, on course to total = around=20 $10 billion.
"During the course of the summer for the last couple of years we've = expected=20 to have two or three of these films. But the number this year shows = there's huge=20 demand. Every studio wants to have their hands in the comic book = business."
Previews of some of the next wave of films will be shown at this = week's Comic=20 Con in San Diego, the vast comic book and fantasy convention where = Hollywood=20 studios flock to sow the seeds of a viral buzz they hope will turn their = projects into hits.
They include Watchmen, based on the graphic novel mini-series = by Alan=20 Moore, and The Spirit by Frank Miller, the comics = legend-turned-director=20 of 300 and Sin City fame, which stars Samuel L Jackson, = Scarlett=20 Johansson and Eva Mendes.
Marvel Studios, makers of Iron Man and The Incredible = Hulk,=20 will meanwhile give fans a glimpse of its sequel Punisher: War = Zone.
The convention is also expected to hear that John Woo will direct an=20 adaptation of the comic book Caliber, a 19th century Western = based on=20 King Arthur.
All hope to mimic the success of Iron Man and the Spiderman = trilogy, which revived the genre in 2002. Since then the = Spiderman=20 franchise has made more than $2.5 billion worldwide. Naturally, a = fourth=20 film, due out in 2011, is in the works.
Industry analysts attribute the appeal of comic book adaptations = partly to=20 Hollywood's polished marketing formula for such films, using events such = as=20 Comic Con to generate a buzz among ardent fans before a big budget = campaign=20 whips interest into a frenzy. (The hype surrounding The Dark Knight=20 sparked the biggest pre-release sale of tickets in history with = thousands of=20 screenings sold out before it even opened.)
Then there are the endless clear-cut storylines honed over decades,=20 franchise-friendly characters, high-octane action and the fact comic = books=20 enable risk-wary studio executives to picture almost exactly what a film = will=20 look like.
"Now that Hollywood can do them justice (with believable CGI), they = are=20 recognising that comic books are ready-made for the big screen," said = Jim=20 Littler, editor of Comicbookmovie.com. "If you look at any comic book, = it is=20 nearly a shot-by-shot storyboard just waiting to be filmed."
Today's cinema audiences also associate comic book-themed releases = with "big=20 tent pole entertainment", said Martin Grove, columnist for the Hollywood = Reporter online.
"It's understood by people not in the movie business that when a = comic=20 book-based movie comes out, that's a big movie. They recognise = immediately that=20 this is something we better think about seeing because it's going to be = big."=20
The genre has recovered from its low point in 1997 when Joel = Schumacher put=20 George Clooney in a nippled bat suit to risible effect.
Other notable duds include 2004's Catwoman, starring Halle = Berry,=20 Flash Gordon in 1980, and Supergirl in 1984, which made = only $14=20 million.
But Hollywood has learned from its mistakes, commentators say, with = studios=20 making every effort to select the right director and actors for projects = and=20 jettisoning the campy tone of earlier films. Robin is long gone as Bruce = Wayne's=20 sidekick and releases now adopt a much grittier tone in keeping with=20 contemporary fears and sensibilities, Mr Grove said.
Despite the recent rash of adaptations - back in 2004 Mr Grove = counted at=20 least 70 such films in development - he predicts even more are underway = now.=20
"There is no limit to this," said Mr Bock. The two major forces in = comics,=20 Marvel Comics and DC Comics, have "thousands of characters to explore = and then=20 we're not including Dark Horse and other smaller comics that have = started=20 to make an impact as well".
He said he expected to see "at least two films a year from Marvel = alone and=20 I'm sure DC will follow suit."
Specialist "comics-to-film" companies such as Platinum Studios and = Kingdom=20 Comics, set up by Disney in May to develop graphic novels that can be = turned=20 into films, are also generating new projects.
Marvel Studios, which will release another X Men film next = year, is=20 also working on Iron Man 2, Thor, from British filmmaker = Matthew=20 Vaughn, The First Avenger: Captain America, and The = Avengers, due=20 out in 2010 and 2011.
Warner Bros, the studio behind The Dark Knight, has meanwhile = been=20 sitting down with sister company DC Comics to thrash out "how best to = exploit=20 the DC Comics characters and properties".
A Superman sequel is said to be in the works as are versions = of=20 Justice League and Green Lantern. Other rumoured = adaptations=20 include a big screen Wonder Woman, another stab at Flash = and even=20 an Aquaman film.
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