Box Office Outlook: The Darkest Knight

By Katey Rich

The Dark Knight set records this weekend even before it began its midnight showings earlier today. It's playing at a record number of theatres, 4,366, just four more than the number claimed by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End last summer. And, if things go as well as everyone has reason to expect they will, Batman's latest adventure will see one of the highest-ever opening weekends, possibly coming just below the record held by Spider-Man 3. Oh, and there are two other movies opening in wide release this weekend that some other people might care about. This is one of those weekends, though, where it's very clear who's king.

THE DARK KNIGHT. Opening in 4,366 theatres. A year after he introduced himself to Gotham and saved its people from mortal peril, Batman (Christian Bale) remains a mercurial, outsider figure in his home city. He's eliminated crime but not quite enough, so that Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) and district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) are teaming up with the caped one to rid the city of its remaining crime bosses. That is, until the Joker (Heath Ledger) descends upon the city, aiming to create chaos wherever he goes and, as he puts it, "Kill the Batman." There is also plenty of political intrigue, and plot twists too interesting and damn hard to explain to fit in here. And you're going to see the movie anyway, no matter what, so why aren't you in the theatre right now?

Perhaps the most astonishing thing about this grim, dark movie, guaranteed to make as much money as you can imagine, is that the critics have lined up to sing its praises. And it's not all just for Heath Ledger, either, whom most agree is stunning in his last completed performance. Our Frank Lovece says the movie "takes the expectations attached to superhero movies and subverts and reverses them in unexpected ways, asking pointed questions about that heroic archetype without sacrificing action and suspense." "This is powerful, propulsive filmmaking," writes The Los Angeles Times, and The New Republic calls it "a work of exceptional, though not always realized, ambition." The Village Voice promises, "The Dark Knight will give your adrenal glands their desired workout, but it will occupy your mind, too, and even lead it down some dim alleyways where most Hollywood movies fear to tread." And, OK, let's get into those Ledger raves. "A stupendously creepy performance, wild but never over the top."-- Newsweek. "His Joker is a creature of such ghastly life, and the performance is so visceral, creepy and insistently present that the characterization pulls you in almost at once."-- The New York Times. "Ledger has made this anarchic maniac a singular and supremely unhinged villain. From the clumsily repellant way he flips his tongue around to his sneering, nasal voice, he is a peerless eccentric."-- USA Today. In short: The darkest comic book movie ever made is also right up there with the most successful.

MAMMA MIA! Opening in 2,976 theatres. Because Hairspray got us all tapping our feet this time last summer, we now have another Broadway transfer to entertain us if we're not in the mood for the grim bat. Mamma Mia! is essentially a collection of ABBA songs, strung together with a plot that involves three potential fathers of a young bride (Amanda Seyfried) getting hitched on the Greek island where she was raised by her single mom (Meryl Streep). Old friends(Christine Baranski and Julie Walters) and old flames (Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Pierce Brosnan as the possible dads) arrive for the festivities. Lots and lots and lots of singing, dancing and ABBA ensue.

Well, you can't have two near-perfect movies come out in one weekend, can you? To be fair, Mamma Mia! hasn't been trashed too terribly by the press, most of whom seem half-embarassed to admit they enjoyed it. I especially like A.O. Scott's take in The New York Times: "If you insist on folding your arms, looking at your watch and defending yourself against this mindless, hedonistic assault on coherence, you are unlikely to survive until the end credits (which may, by themselves, kill you all over again). Surrender, on the other hand, is easy and painless. It's Greece! It's bellybuttons! It's Meryl Streep! It's ABBA!" The Boston Globe was even more overjoyed: "The movie takes the ABBA jukebox musical that ate London, and is still eating Broadway, and turns it into a surprisingly sensuous experience." Other critics, though, were running for the exits: "I felt I was being thoroughly, and unenjoyably, punished," writes Stephanie Zacharek at Salon.com. The Washington Post calls it "an ABBA-bomb wrapped in a huge turquoise-colored feather boa." Even the cheerful Roger Ebert is unhappy, though he admits he might be in the minority: "This movie wasn't made for me. It was made for the people who will love it [...] I feel like the grouch at the party."

SPACE CHIMPS. Opening in 2,511 theatres. The legacy left by the first chimpanzees to go into space, back at the beginning of NASA, is represented today by Ham III (the voice of Andy Samberg), a circus chimp who has no aspirations to carry on the family name. But when there's a dangerous space mission that only chimps can complete, Ham is recruited along with a few other chimps to head off to a wormhole and rescue an important piece of equipment. They land on a faraway planet ruled by the monster Zartog (Jeff Daniels). Hijinks and heroism presumably ensue.

Surprisingly enough, most critics have had enough room in their heart after their Dark Knight raves to put a kiss on the forehead of Space Chimps. The New York Times begins its review thusly: "Journalism is all about having the courage to write the truth even if it will get you mocked by your relatives and co-workers, so here goes: Space Chimps is hilarious." Roger Ebert, having cheered up after Mamma Mia!, calls it "delightful from beginning to end." "The CG animation is nothing special," confesses The Hollywood Reporter, "but the characters are surprisingly fun and the story is full of enough puns, wordplay and slapstick to elicit laughs from across the age spectrum." But the Onion A.V. Club isn't happy at all: "The patronizing script, cheap human stereotypes, console-level animation, and overly similar chase scenes all make for a punishing experience."