Can The Dark Knight Rises top the money-making record set by The Avengers?

There’s a lot of cash that gets pumped into high profile movies these days, but not every movie made, has the potential to earn that investment back, and then some.

But then you get films such as Avatar, Titanic and The Lord of The Rings, films which earned so much cash, that a Scrooge McDuck vault was needed to hold it all in. The Avengers made over $1.4 Billion across the world, a record that the Dark Knight Rises is going to attempt to beat.

But can it?

The conclusion of the Bat-trilogy follows hot on the heels of the 2008 sequel, The Dark Knight, a movie which made over a $1 billion in worldwide sales.

TDKR will be debuting across 4404 locations, the second-widest such release, just behind the latest Twilight film, which will have 4468 locations for its sparkly vampire action.

But if TDKR is to succeed, it’s going to need to beat the opening weekend tally set by Marvels mightiest heroes, as The Avengers made over $200 million in that one weekend.

Batman has a history at the box office though, with his films usually setting new records, which are then surpassed in later years. Here’s a quick look at that progress:

• 1989: Batman – $40.5 million
• 1992: Batman Returns – $45.7 million
• 1995: Batman Forever – $52.8 million
• 1997: Batman and Robin – $42.8 million
• 2005: Batman Begins – $48.7 million
• 2008: The Dark Knight – $158.4 million

One of the key factors in the success of The Dark Knight, could have been the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger, who was already receiving considerable praise for his role as The Joker, further tempting audiences to see one of his final, most mesmerising performances on the screen.

When TDK finally finished up at the box office, it left over a billion dollars in cash in the coffers of Warner Bros, and currently sits at number 12, on the list of highest grossing movies of all time.

And while the film has a number of factors going for it that could propel it into the top five list of making money, such as a fantastic leading lady, a terrifying foe and the mother of all showdowns being promised, several other factors could hinder it, primarily due to how the film was made.

Christopher Nolans steadfast, and wonderfully appreciated, refusal to have the movie converted to 3D means that there will be a loss of extra revenue from those higher ticket prices, while the longer running time for this finale means that it can be shown fewer times than the Avengers.

Foreign markets will also receive the film slightly later, in comparison to the Switcheroo that Disney pulled, when they released the Avengers into those markets first, before they did so with the domestic release in America.

Chances are slim right now that TDKR will indeed beat the Avengers when it comes to a money-fight, but those same chances also forecast that the film will be a massive box office draw, something that the $25 million in pre-ticket sales will no doubt help reinforce.

And after a period of several high quality superhero films, it’s one hell of a high note to end the capes and spandex season on.

Last Updated: July 19, 2012