Pushing Dark Knight over 600mil

Looks like The Dark Knight is finally running out of gas at about 505 million in domestic box office leaving it 95 million shy of the record holding Titanic.

So if for kicks the studio wanted to break that record what type of strategy might they consider and would it work?

  • A new marketing blitz telling people to see it again.
  • Add 5-10 minutes of new footage and remarket as an extended edition.
  • Immediately pull it from theatres, do not release the DVD, re-release in theatres for Thanksgiving? Christmas? January?
  • A combination of the above?

They really need to push people to see it again in IMAX. It’s one of the most satisfying moviegoing experiances of all time.

I hated the changing aspect ratio; totally took me out of the movie every time.

I didn’t notice that at all, but I’m sure it was there. I’m not the most sophisticated moviegoer out there, but the sense of hugeness and those IMAX shots of the city were vertigo inducingly excellent.

This is only accurate if you’re American and choose to ignore the rest of the world. In all time Worldwide totals, DK is still at roughly half of Titanic’s score. Box Office Mojo has the details. DK actually has eight films to beat if wants to hit number one (two Harry Potter, two LOTR, two Pirates and a Star Wars plus Titanic).

I don’t understand why the trades (including some Canadian ones I read) constantly report U.S. domestic as the relevant figures. You think the studios are ignoring that extra Billion Dollars Titanic pulled in? I don’t.

I personally don’t think a movie is ever going to break Titanic’s record, unless inflation drives ticket prices up so high that a billion-dollar box office is common.

Anyway, yeah, push the IMax thing. It kicked. Or, alternately, kill off another cast member (sorry, sorry… just kidding).

thwartme

If you want to make another 100 million or so all they have to do is re-release it in January or something in anticipation of the Oscars.

Also, pushing IMAX is key, it’s pretty spectacular. I’m gonna go again soon because I had pretty terrible seats the first few times.

I think the simple truth is this.

When Titanic came out I eventually saw it at the movies because the economy was decent and I could afford it. I still haven’t seen Dark Knight because I can’t afford the theater.

One might also underestrimate the perpetuation of Titanic by women, as it was a decidely feminine film in sentiment and drama. DK has a decidedly Masculine drive behind it.

Sorry, Dark Knight only has half Titanic’s (US domestic Box Office) gross, when adjusted for inflation. Ticket sales is what they should count, not box office take.

Yeah, I’m going to have to go ahead and say that if you can’t spend $4-$5 to see The Dark Knight then you don’t really want to see The Dark Knight.

Pinning it on “the economy” just seems like a really strange excuse for not seeing a movie you really, really, really want to see.

Considering a movie in London is the equivalent of about $15 USD, I thought you were being a little cavalier over someone’s finances but I checked the AMC. website and Dark Knight is listed for 6 bucks!! wow sometimes I forget how expensive it is here.

Nice the movie’s doing so well but I’m kind of bummed Warner Brothers has used it’s success as an excuse to move Harry Potter to next July.

Move along. Nothing to see here…

Expensive it may be, but 7.5 pounds is hardly the same as $15.

In Australia, the average ticket price for a new release movie on opening weekend is around AU$16.00, which is US$13.30, or UK£7.50

No wonder we prefer to wait for the DVD. We’re getting ripped off.

as of 10:47 this morning 1 GBP = 1.77 USD or 7.5 GBP =$13.30 USD so yeah its about 15 bucks

Check xe.com

Well, it’s logistical as well, that money is going in my gas tank and I can’t afford to drive 20 miles just to go to the movies.

20 miles? That’s quite the haul.

Is my situation of living within five miles of two multiplexes really so unique?

Well, there is a little two screen Theater that’s relatively close to me, but they’re not showing DK. All the multiplexes are between 15-20 miles of me, or farther.

Well the minimum wage is 5.52 GBP, or 11 bucks an hour, compared to 7 in the states. People earn more, so you can’t just convert and say everything is double the price.
And I’d say an extended edition/director’s cut is your best bet. There are enough fanboys out there willing to buy another ticket for 5 more minutes of fight scenes or Gotham City panoramas to push past the Titanic hump.

Was it actually filmed in IMAX, or are they just showing lower resolution film on a really huge screen? If the latter, what do you gain from that over, say, sitting in the front row of a normal theater?

Several action sequences were actually filmed in IMAX, so it wasn’t just the standard conversion that past blockbusters have done.

I haven’t seen the IMAX version, so I can’t vouch for how big a difference it makes in the viewing experience itself.