After months of teetering on the brink of $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue, The Dark Knight has officially reached the milestone, distributor Warner Bros. announced today. The Batman sequel is the fourth movie in history to hit the mark, behind Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
[full story @ BoxOfficeMojo.com]
In December, Warner Bros officially announced that they will, in fact, re-release The Dark Knight to traditional cinemas as well as IMAX theaters in the United States on January 23, 2009. Already the 2nd Highest Grossing ($531 million) domestic film of all time, this move guarantees that it will become the fourth film to take in more than $1 billion in worldwide box office sales. According to Box Office Mojo, its current worldwide takings stand at $997 million.Insiders speculate the re-release is also an effort to increase its Oscar chances by keeping the film fresh in Academy members minds, since the film was released several months before the traditional ‘Oscar season.’ The Dark Knight has already won several prestigious awards, and has been nominated for many others, including 7 BAFTAS. Oscar nominations will be announced this Thursday, January 22.
