The new Batman movie, "The Dark
Knight," grossed a record $18.5 million from midnight preview
screenings ahead of its official opening on Friday, according
to box office tracking service Media By Numbers.
That tally includes receipts from 12:01 a.m. Friday
showings only in 3,040 North American theaters -- 3 a.m. and 6
a.m. screenings were not counted -- and shatters the preview
record of $16.9 million set by "Star Wars: Episode III --
Revenge of the Sith" in 2005, Media By Numbers said.
The film's robust performance in advance screenings
bolstered projections that "Dark Knight" was headed for an
opening weekend of $100 million or more in the United States
and Canada.
Its fortunes are further brightened by mostly positive
reviews and a record wide release on Friday by Warner Bros, a
unit of Time Warner Inc, in 4,366 U.S. and Canadian theaters.
"Dark Knight" cost about $180 million to produce.
A follow-up to 2005's "Batman Begins," which grossed about
$372 million worldwide, "Dark Knight" reunites director Chris
Nolan and star Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader. It also
features the late Australian actor Heath Ledger in what turned
out to be his last completed screen role, as Batman's arch
nemesis, the Joker.
Only 10 other movies have managed to cross the $100 million
domestic box-office mark in their first weekend, led by
"Spider-Man 3" with $151 million in 2007 and "Pirates of the
Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" with $135.6 million in 2006.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and
Eric Walsh)
In Theaters 
