Mumbai: Imax Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures announced that The Dark Knight: The Imax Experience continued its unprecedented box office performance with the highest grossing second weekend in Imax history. The Imax release grossed $4.6 million on 94 domestic Imax screens, from Friday 25 July through Sunday 27 July, bringing the film’s domestic total to $16.3 million.
Internationally, the film grossed approximately $1.6 million in 28 Imax theatres, for a per screen average of $57,800, bringing the international total to $2.8 million. Through Sunday, the worldwide Imax total was $19.2 million and is expected to cross the $20 million milestone.
"The Dark Knight is continuing to create new Batman fans nationwide with many repeat customers experiencing it in Imax theatres," said Warner Bros. Pictures domestic distribution President Dan Fellman. "The box office performance of the film in Imax’s format demonstrates how The Imax Experience transforms an already exciting movie into an event that lasts beyond the first weekend."
The Imax release of The Dark Knight continued its opening box office record streak overseas. Highlights from this past weekend include London’s BFI Imax theatre, which hosted the film’s European premiere, and posted a record international Imax opening of $221K for the weekend. The film also broke opening weekend records for an Imax title in Holland, South Africa, Turkey and the UAE.
"With nearly $58,000 per screen average for the weekend, moviegoers are clearly drawn to Imax theatres," said Warner Bros. Pictures International Distribution President Veronika Kwan-Rubinek. "Results in the holdover markets dropped a mere 13%, which demonstrates the resilience this film has in the Imax format."
"Many Imax theatres have been operating at nearly full capacity throughout the week and into the second weekend, and the additional Imax locations that opened internationally over the weekend have reported many individual box office records," said Imax Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. "We’re starting to see the film’s strong legs in Imax theatres, with a second record-breaking weekend and strong advance sales into this week."
"The second weekend results are incredible," added Imax Filmed Entertainment chairman and President Greg Foster. "We are grateful to (Director) Chris Nolan for incorporating Imax into the design of his film and to Warner Bros. Pictures for utilizing the Imax network as a key part of the film’s marketing and distribution blueprint, a combination that clearly resonates with moviegoers worldwide."
