Bad Bets
I didn’t see The Dark Knight till Monday of this week, but the buzz beforehand pegged it as long, dour, and tough — a brilliantly conceived downer. I knew opening day tickets were going fast, but I wasn’t convinced audiences would really go for it en masse, or at least not in a record-breaking way. Gloomy, morally ambiguous, and complex aren’t usually characteristics associated with massively successful summer blockbusters. Certainly, I figured, you’d have a lot of critics complaining that it took itself too seriously, that the whole thing was too unpleasant, and that there’d be attendant buzz about whether it was “too dark” for summer audiences — and that buzz, combined with the film’s length, would keep the box office down opening weekend.
So I made a friendly wager with Sonny Bunch: The Dark Knight, I proposed, wouldn’t break $105 million in its three-day opening.
The weekend’s not over yet, but on the strength of TDK’s record-breaking opening day, I’m ready to concede. Sheesh! Nobody knows anything (or at least I don’t), indeed.
There’s one thing I can predict, and it is box office. Anyway, the Mayflower makes a mean martini. We can toast to The Dark Knight’s success.
— Sonny Bunch · Jul 19, 07:28 PM · #
I know of one pastor and his Christian university president buddy that were staying up late to catch the midnight showing the other day. I wonder if that’s any kind of predictor.
— Joules · Jul 19, 09:29 PM · #
All this really shows is the cult of celebrity at work. If Ledger doesn’t die, this “dour” movie wouldn’t have the same mass appeal. It’s like rubbernecking at an accident scene.
— keatssycamore · Jul 20, 08:06 PM · #