Dark Knight fires up cash registers

2:15pm Saturday 19th July 2008

The new Batman film, The Dark Knight, lit up cash registers during its midnight US debut, earning a record 18.5 million US dollars (£9.3 million) from 3,040 cinemas, distributor Warner Bros said.

That beat the 2005 performance of Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith, which took in 16.9 million dollars (£8.5 million) during its midnight debut in 2,915 venues.

The Dark Knight figure did not include any of its 3am or 6am showings.

The early numbers mean The Dark Knight will likely join the ranks of 10 other films that debuted on non-holiday weekends and cleared more than 100 million dollars from Friday to Sunday, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC.

"There is an unbelievable demand for this movie," he said. "The Heath Ledger factor is a major part of this. Beyond that, the movie is so good, it's worthy of all these accolades."

The film directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Batman cost 185 million dollars to make. The late Ledger has been tipped for a posthumous Oscar for his performance as the Joker.

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