Dark Knight Smashes $300M Record

Heath Ledger's final performance burns in the dark

(NEWSER) - Dark Knight swoops into cinemas tomorrow and critics say the hype is more than justified. "This is not merely a Batman movie," Amy Biancolli writes in the Houston Chronicle. It is one of the year's best films "and far and away the most hypnotic chiller." The bleak Gotham tale is "audacious and unnerving while consistently being fun and entertaining," writes Claudia Puig in USA Today. More»

Fans want studio to hang up clown suit as tribute to killer performance

(NEWSER) - A group of Heath Ledger fans are calling for the Batman movies to hang up the Joker's purple suit for good as a tribute to the late actor's last role, CNN reports. Supporters at website "The Ultimate Joker" say no actor could ever nail the killer clown as well as Ledger did, and are aiming to get 50,000 people to sign their petition. More»

Caped crusader movie goes 5 for 5 as chosen by online voters

(NEWSER) - The Dark Knight swooped in to collect all five trophies it was nominated for at last night's People's Choice Awards, reports the AP. The flick's awards included favorite movie, best cast, and best on-screen match-up, for Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. "On behalf of all of the cast from the movie, thank you very much to the fans," said Bale. "Here's to Heath." More»

Be afraid, be very afraid, Radar warns

(NEWSER) - First a technician died on the set of the Dark Knight, then Heath Ledger overdosed. Christian Bale allegedly assaulted his mother recently, and now Morgan Freeman is recovering from a nasty car accident and undergoing a divorce. Folks have started muttering about a Dark Knight curse, and Radar insists the hex is real. What other tragedies plague actors linked to the film?

1. Aaron Eckhart is doomed to play supporting roles for the rest of his life.

Batman blazes way to $155.34M opening weekend

(AP) - Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood's box office superheroes. The Dark Knight took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, according to Warner Bros., which released the Batman Begins sequel. That figure topped Hollywood's previous best of $151.1 million, set by Spider-Man 3 in May 2007. More»