BATMAN - BATMAN BREAKS WEEKEND OPENING RECORD AT U.S. BOX OFFICE

BATMAN BREAKS WEEKEND OPENING RECORD AT U.S. BOX OFFICE

New BATMAN movie THE DARK KNIGHT has stormed the U.S. box office chart, bringing in $155.34 million (GBP77.67 million) in its opening weekend.
The Dark Knight was set for a record-breaking weekend, raking in a massive $66.4 million (GBP33.2 million) when it opened in U.S. theatres on Friday (18Jul08).
And the franchise film, starring Christian Bale as its winged superhero and late actor Heath Ledger as movie villain The Joker, smashed the all-time opening weekend record of $151.1 million (GBP75.55 million), formerly held by 2007's Spider-Man 3.
Other U.S. box office top spots were held by Meryl Streep's movie-musical Mamma Mia!, which took the second spot this weekend, earning $27.6 million (GBP13.8 million), and Will Smith's superhero blockbuster Hancock.
Smith's film slipped to number three this weekend, but managed to add $14 million (GBP7 million) to its three-week total of $191.5 million (GBP95.75 million).
Rounding out the top five are Brendan Fraser's Journey to the Center of the Earth, which took in $11.9 million (GBP5.95 million) in fourth place, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which slipped from the top spot but earned an additional $10 million (GBP5 million).