It looks like we haven't seen the last of the Dark Knight just yet. News broke today that Warner Brothers plans to re-release the film to theaters this January. The reason for this...Oscars.
Batman wants an Oscar.
More literally, Warner Bros. wants a statuette -- or 10 -- for "The Dark Knight." So the studio plans to rerelease its blockbuster Batman sequel in January, the height of Academy Awards voting season.
"It's just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder for people," a studio insider said.
Warners domestic distribution president Dan Fellman acknowledged ongoing talks with Imax executives about the prospect of restoring the Christian Bale starrer to some number of giant-screen venues in January. It's uncertain if "Dark Knight" also will reappear in conventional venues at that point.
And of course, this would have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the Dark Knight is only about $88 Million away from overtaking Titanic as the highest grossing domestic film of all time. Dark Knight currently has made around $512 Million in the US while Titanic sits at just over the $600 Million mark.
Getting the film re-released in theaters could possibly bring enough people back to send it over that last little bit it needs, but it's going to have some issues doing that most likely. First off, if they only re-release it on IMAX screens, that limits the number of screens it will be on, which thus limits the number of people who can go see it.
Secondly, the film is set to come out on DVD sometime in December so it can be the must-have Christmas item for people everywhere. If the standard population can watch the film at home instead of paying out another $14 for an IMAX theater ticket, then they're going to do that instead. Sure you'll get the die hard comic fans and movie purists who will go to see the film in theaters one last time, but will they be enough to push Dark Knight over Titanic? Only time will tell I suppose.
I certainly hope it does though.
I believe in no gods. But I have been praying to all of them that Dark Knight beats Titanic. Period. End of sentence. Of course didn't Titanic run for like nearly a year anyway? When I heard that they planned on re-releasing The Dark Knight in January I thought the exact same thing. "Isn't the DVD going to be out by then? Who's going to see it?" Bad move on Warner Bros. part. Honestly I know it's like a Batman tradition for a film to come out in the summer and it to come out on video by Christmas. Hell, that's a summer movie tradition. But I'd be willing to wait to own it, if it meant Oscar consideration and beating Titanic. But obviously, Warner Brothers would be losing out on tons of profits on the DVD if it wasn't a Christmas present option. Sigh.
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