The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger's Joker turned Christopher Nolan's Batman sequel into the event film of 2008 — a then-record $158.4 million opening weekend on the way to a billion dollars worldwide and a posthumous Oscar. "Why so serious?" was everywhere that summer.
Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, his sequel to Batman Begins, released in the US on July 18, 2008, starring Christian Bale as Batman, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, and Heath Ledger as the Joker. The film arrived under a shadow: Ledger had died in January 2008 of an accidental prescription-drug overdose, six months before release. His performance earned a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making The Dark Knight the first comic-book film to win a major acting award.
The box office numbers were staggering. The film opened to a then-record $158.4 million weekend, became the fastest film ever to reach $400 million (in 18 days), and hit $500 million in 45 days. It grossed $1.009 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2008 and the fourth-highest-grossing film ever at that time. Technically, it was also a landmark: the first major feature partially shot with IMAX cameras, with approximately 28 minutes of the finished film captured in that format.
The cultural moment was everything. The viral marketing campaign that summer, the pencil trick that made theaters gasp, the "Why so serious?" refrain, midnight screenings packed to capacity — The Dark Knight transcended being a summer blockbuster and became an event.
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