'Dark Knight' pads weekend haul, finishes with record-breaking $158.4 million debut

By Associated Press

5:56 PM EDT, July 21, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Bruce Wayne just keeps getting richer.

"The Dark Knight," the crime saga about vigilante Batman and his wealthy alter ego Wayne, debuted with a record $158.4 million, according to final weekend numbers Monday. That was up $3.1 million from studio estimates of $155.3 million a day earlier.

Starring Christian Bale as Batman and the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, "The Dark Knight" surpassed Hollywood's previous best opening weekend of $151.1 million set last year by "Spider-Man 3."

The hotly anticipated sequel to "Batman Begins" grew into a cultural event after Ledger's death from an accidental prescription-drug overdose in January, with critical acclaim over his maniacal performance firing up fans for the film.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC:

1. "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros., $158,411,483, 4,366 locations, $36,283 average, $158,411,483, one week.

2. "Mamma Mia!", Universal, $27,751,240, 2,976 locations, $9,325 average, $27,751,240, one week.

3. "Hancock," Sony, $14,040,178, 3,776 locations, $3,718 average, $191,543,979, three weeks.

4. "Journey to the Center of the Earth," Warner Bros., $12,340,435, 2,830 locations, $4,361 average, $43,504,712, two weeks.

5. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Universal, $10,117,815, 3,212 locations, $3,150 average, $56,526,885, two weeks.

6. "WALL-E," Disney, $10,070,396, 3,310 locations, $3,042 average, $182,732,709, four weeks.

7. "Space Chimps," Fox, $7,181,374, 2,511 locations, $2,860 average, $7,181,374, one week.

8. "Wanted," Universal, $5,072,805, 2,433 locations, $2,085 average, $123,322,635, four weeks.

9. "Get Smart," Warner Bros., $4,125,021, 2,135 locations, $1,932 average, $119,608,695, five weeks.

10. "Kung Fu Panda," Paramount, $1,860,854, 1,505 locations, $1,236 average, $206,616,381, seven weeks.

11. "Meet Dave," Fox, $1,659,424, 3,011 locations, $551 average, $9,398,409, two weeks.

12. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Paramount, $955,846, 757 locations, $1,263 average, $312,569,461, nine weeks.

13. "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," Picturehouse, $951,358, 769 locations, $1,237 average, $13,769,304, five weeks.

14. "Sex and the City," Warner Bros., $721,152, 515 locations, $1,400 average, $149,870,455, eight weeks.

15. "The Incredible Hulk," Universal, $626,515, 656 locations, $955 average, $131,767,165, six weeks.