By LUKE DENNEHY, DAVID K. LI and BRIGITTE WILLIAMS
Last updated: 7:01 am
July 19, 2008
Posted: 4:38 am
July 19, 2008
Bat-crazed movie fans were willing to shell out up to $150 for a ticket to "The Dark Knight" yesterday, during what analysts predicted could be the biggest box-office weekend of all time.
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The latest Batman flick already has the record for the most screens showing a first-run movie and is the top all-time, midnight-debuting movie.
Online ads from ticket seekers and sellers included asking prices of $200 a ducat and sales for $150 for the sold-out shows.
Brooklyn resident Jack Harari was offering to pay up to $100 for a ticket on Craigslist.
"I don't think it will be a few days' wait - I think it will be a few weeks' wait," Harari told WCBS/Channel 2's Web site.
"I've noticed that most tickets that were bought in advance were not bought to be resold."
Media By Numbers reported that "Dark Knight" took in $18.5 million in theaters that had 12:01 a.m. showings yesterday.
Analysts predicted a boffo box office for the flick despite fierce competition from the opening of "Mamma Mia."
The overall lineup threatens the all-time box-office take of $218 million on the weekend starting July 7, 2006, when "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Superman Returns" came out.
Additional reporting by William Vitka
