MANILA—The Philippines plunged into darkness as Warner
Bros.' new Batman adventure The Dark Knight smashed box-office records,
easily opening at No. 1 nationwide with a phenomenal P62.6 million for the July
17 to 20 weekend period. This was
announced earlier today, July 21, by Francis Soliven, general manager of Warner
Bros. (F.E.), Inc.
Arriving with sensational anticipation and astounding critical approval, Dark Knight broke Metro Manila single day records in its path: the biggest Friday gross of the year at P10.43 million (surpassing Iron Man at P8.58 million), highest Saturday gross at P15.84 million (topping Hancock at P11.67 million) and biggest individual day for 2008 (ahead of Iron Man at P14.63 million) and biggest Sunday gross at P14.6 million (overtaking Iron Man at P11.83 million).
Its P50.46 million Metro Manila opening weekend gross also shattered several milestones: the year's biggest first weekend for a Warner Bros. film (beating 10,000 BC at P24.91 million) and the best opening for any Batman movie (thrashing 2005's Batman Begins at P39.38 million).
From the 92 sites where Dark Knight opened nationally, the Top 20 theaters that amassed the best receipts are Trinoma (P3.91 million), SM Mall of Asia (P3.17 million), Glorietta 4 (P2.65 million), Greenbelt 3 (P2.54 million), IMAX (P2.44 million), Power Plant (P2.41 million), SM Megamall (P2.36 million), SM North EDSA (P2.16 million), Eastwood (P2.07 million) and Gateway (P2.04 million).
Following closely are Shangri-la (P1.882 million), Alabang Town Center (P1.880 million), Robinsons Ermita (P1.69 million), Robinsons Galleria (P1.68 million), Greenhills (P1.65 million), Ayala Center Cebu (P1.28 million), Festival (P1.23 million), SM Cebu (P1.21 million), Sta. Lucia East (P942,100) and SM San Lazaro (P925,800).
The triumphant Philippine debut of Dark Knight mirrored that of the U.S. where the film opened with a record $153.34 million, smashing the previous best of $151.1 million set by Spider Man 3 last year.
In The Dark Knight, Batman (Christian Bale) sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham City for good, with the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and the committed new District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The triumvirate initially proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger), who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces The Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.
Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast in the role of Rachel Dawes. Returning from "Batman Begins" are Oscar winner Michael Caine as Alfred and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.
Still playing across the Philippines, The Dark Knight is distributed worldwide in IMAX and conventional theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.