The Dark Knight Film Analysis

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Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008) is representative of key changes in contemporary media conglomerate Hollywood in terms of marketing, distribution, and production because of the steps it took to turn a standard superhero film into a worldwide phenomenon that not only succeeded as a standalone film, but also helped to revitalize an entire franchise, paving the way for many more of its kind. This was accomplished through the breaking of typical marketing trends by utilizing various vigorous viral marketing campaigns and interactive, fan-powered “scavenger hunts”, both online and in the real world, that led to the revelation of new scenes, ads, and teasers. Additionally, the film’s domestic and foreign distribution was so massive at the film’s release, that it still holds records today as the 4th highest total grossing box office and 5th highest grossing opening weekend in North America, 4th widest domestic opening (showing on 9,200 screens in 4,366 theaters), and 18th highest all-time grossing box office worldwide record. Needless to say, The Dark Knight was the highest grossing film of the year in 2008. Supplementary material, including animated films and video games, were also created and distributed between the releases of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight as a simultaneous method of franchise reinforcement as well as promotion for the upcoming second installment of Nolan’s Batman universe. It can be asserted that as a result of these fresh new marketing and distribution trends, Christopher Nolan has played a significant role in helping to usher in successful new production practices that will shape the way films will be produced over the course of the transitional blockbuster/digital production era in Hollywood during ...

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...l opening weekend showings at all ninety-four participating IMAX theaters nationwide were sold out in online presale as well. On opening day, The Dark Knight grossed $67 mil., beating out the previous record holder, Spider-Man 3, which grossed nearly $60 mil. As a result of the film’s tremendous success, and in an effort to rebuild Oscar hype during award season, Warner Brothers re-released The Dark Knight domestically in theaters and IMAX in January 2009. Home distribution took several forms including a standard one-disc edition DVD, a two-disc “Special Edition” DVD, a two-disc edition BluRay, a “Special Edition” BluRay bundle package including a miniature Batman figurine, and a four-disc Batman Begins/The Dark Knight DVD combo pack. The Dark Knight set a sales record for “Most DVDs sold in one day” with a grand total of 2.4 million DVDs and 600,000 BluRay discs.

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