Although Duke believed that a 2D film like The Dark Knight could not surpass Titanic in terms of box office, he would not ignore the power of this film. After all, in just two weeks since its release, the film had already grossed nearly 400 million dollars in North America.
Overseas, The Dark Knight did indeed perform a bit more modestly compared to North America, just as Duke had expected, but the numbers it achieved were still impressive.
In its first weekend overseas, the film earned $6.57 million in Brazil, $8.68 million in Mexico, $12.94 million in France, $15.62 million in Germany, and $26.09 million in the UK...
In Heath Ledger's home country, Australia, The Dark Knight grossed an astonishing $18.72 million in its first weekend, setting a new weekend box office record for Australia.
Moreover, at the recently concluded Brisbane Film Festival, the organizing committee awarded Heath Ledger the Xavier Award in recognition of his contribution to the Australian film industry.
All of this further stimulated Australian audiences' interest in The Dark Knight.
However, in one of Hollywood's most important box office markets, The Dark Knight was met with indifference. The Japanese have never been enthusiastic about superhero films, and the Batman series was no exception. The film grossed less than $3 million in Japan during its opening weekend.
Even so, the film still earned $185.66 million overseas in its opening weekend, becoming the first film this year to ignite the global market.
Combining North American and overseas numbers, The Dark Knight's total box office easily surpassed $500 million, reaching $561.32 million.
Although its overseas performance was somewhat more subdued than in North America, The Dark Knight received overwhelming praise in every country where it was released.
Hong Kong's Oriental Daily commented that among Hollywood's superhero films, The Dark Knight was particularly thrilling and exciting, never treating its story as a joke. The outstanding CGI effects, combined with real action, created a powerful visual impact, and the quality both in front of and behind the camera was top-notch.
The UK's Times directly quoted several interviewed moviegoers: "The Dark Knight is a rare masterpiece," "the biggest surprise of this summer and the year so far," "undoubtedly the best film of 2008."
France's Le Figaro also, unusually, sang praises for a Hollywood film—"When was the last time you saw a flawless blockbuster that was thought-provoking, bold, intense, yet consistently entertaining?"
The frenzy of box office success and critical acclaim brought not only massive profits but also prompted Warner Bros. to think about the future especially in terms of how to shape the tone of DC's superhero films.
"Audiences are always looking for fresh excitement. I think to some extent, they're already tired of the old types of superhero movies."
In Warner Bros.' conference room, Jamie Johnson was reviewing the compiled data as he spoke. "The Dark Knight's success gives us a lot of insight. I think future DC superhero films can be made more serious and realistic, rather than following Marvel's comedic approach."
"The Dark Knight brought Warner Bros. more than just economic gains."
Sitting at the head of the conference table, Doug Walter looked at Duke and said, "It also showed us the key elements in how DC superhero films should be made."
All the executives nodded. With a successful template already in hand, the next step was naturally to continue following that template.
Vice President Robert Solomon also spoke up, "I think the next DC superhero films can remove more of the 'fun' elements. The style should be more serious and darker."
Many eyes turned toward Duke. The DC superhero films, which had nearly been driven to ruin, had now achieved unprecedented glory under his direction, bringing DC's superheroes back into the spotlight...
There was no doubt that Duke now held heavyweight influence over how the future of DC superhero films should unfold.
Serious? The Dark Knight isn't serious at all!
Closing the new Superman script in his hand, Duke looked at the people sitting on either side of the conference table and said, "I think the script's premise is pretty good. It shows the human side of Superman and the process of Clark Kent rediscovering himself, which is commendable. But there's one thing…"
Everyone perked up their ears. Superman was, after all, the biggest icon of DC Comics and Warner Bros.
"I think the content of the script is overly dark. This Superman isn't Superman at all anymore." Duke paused for a moment and added, "Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are completely different characters. Applying The Dark Knight's style to the new Superman film is inappropriate."
He looked at Doug Walter and continued, "I think removing all the 'fun' elements and creating the rest of the DC superhero films in a serious, dark tone is not a wise decision."
The dark style could be used, but if Warner Bros.' management followed through with their ideas, every DC superhero would turn into a tragic character, strictly following a 'no humor' principle.
This kind of bandwagon behavior was clearly an overcorrection.
Duke knew very well that Hollywood is an industry that follows trends obsessively.
For example, after the success of Avatar, Hollywood focused only on its 3D aspect and decided to release as many 3D films in theaters as possible. When the major studios saw the success of Inception, they didn't think, "Oh, so audiences like high-quality original sci-fi films" instead, they thought, "Let's remake Total Recall and Starship Troopers…"
The Dark Knight's success not only led Warner Bros. to blindly follow a direction for DC superhero films, but other companies were even faster to react. For instance, Sony Columbia Pictures, which acquired the rights to The Mask of Zorro from DreamWorks, announced on Monday after years of delays due to various issues that the sequel was officially underway. They declared that the new Zorro would not be a traditional swashbuckler, but closer in style to The Dark Knight, featuring a new origin story, a realistic tone, and a character-driven emotional core.
In fact, with The Dark Knight making a huge splash in North America, some companies and market research firms began to believe that audiences no longer liked "funny" superhero films.
Robert Solomon seemed to disagree with Duke's statement and said, "But The Dark Knight…"
"I did indeed use a dark style and realistic approach in The Dark Knight, but all of that had to adhere to one principle," Duke directly interrupted Robert Solomon, slightly raising his voice, "What they bring must be thrilling, vibrant, and above all, fun big-screen entertainment!"
No matter how dark and realistic, The Dark Knight was still a highly entertaining commercial blockbuster!
Being a major shareholder of Warner Bros. and also a board member of Time Warner, the success or failure of DC superhero films was directly tied to Duke's personal interests. He did not want to see this series of films, like before, go further down the blindly dark path.
Just as he had said earlier, a dark style could be used appropriately, but it must never completely eliminate the 'fun' elements.
Duke raised his voice again to emphasize his tone, "I'm not going to waste time here quoting the funny lines and scenes in The Dark Knight. You've all seen the film and have your own preferences. Anyone who thinks the film is purely serious has either never watched it or just really dislikes Michael Caine and Laurence Fishburne's performances."
Then, he looked toward the head of the conference table. "While filming, I once told Doug that this series would be suitable for teenagers and even kids around 13 years old to watch. I also shot and produced it with that in mind."
Though the MPAA can also be influenced by PR, the PG-13 rating of The Dark Knight explained a lot.
The Dark Knight was indeed heavy, but it had nothing to do with being serious—seriousness is often the opposite of entertainment.
It is widely known that entertainment value and a PG-13 rating are among the basic requirements for a film to become a box office hit.
The Dark Knight became a blockbuster not because it was serious, dark, and somber, but because the vast majority of it was a high-quality, well-thought-out, and cleverly constructed piece of entertainment—combined with gripping suspense, genuine humor, and compelling characters.
This film did touch on dark themes and featured characters weighed down by their own mental instability, but overall, it was still full of vitality and humor.
Some believe The Dark Knight was so successful simply because it was "grim, serious, and realistic." That viewpoint is overly simplistic.
Just like The Sixth Sense, which earned nearly $300 million at the North American box office, wasn't just because of its shocking twist; or Avatar, which grossed $2.7 billion worldwide, wasn't only because it was a 3D movie.
"Duke, if we're not going to fully follow the style of The Dark Knight," Doug Walter looked over and asked, "then your opinion is…"
Frowning slightly, Duke thought for a few seconds, then said, "There are many reasons why a movie succeeds or fails. Blaming it on a single factor is a very dangerous approach. Moreover, one important point: blockbuster films—especially mega-blockbusters—become big hits because they are quality, all-around entertainment works."
"I believe the dark style can be used, but it must not be overused," Duke concluded. "We can let Clark Kent find himself again, but we must not let him sink into anguish like Bruce Wayne. Characters like Aquaman and Wonder Woman are even less suited for that."
Compared to Marvel's relatively lighthearted and entertaining route, DC's heroes may carry deeper grudges and pain, but if they all turn dark, audiences will inevitably feel tired of it.
Indeed, seriousness is practically a poisonous existence for any superhero film.
...
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