After breaking the record for opening in the most theaters nationwide (4,366 of them), Batman has now achieved the record for highest grossing midnight sales. Last night TDK took a whopping estimated $18.5 million - NOT including the 3am and 6am screenings! This breaks the previous record set by Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. To put this into some context, Batman Begins made $15m on its first day whilst the highest single day opening belongs to Spider-man 3 at $59.8m.

You may want to take these figures into account when predicting The Dark Knight’s weekend gross.

Source: Variety:

Warner Bros.’ “The Dark Knight” grossed the most ever for midnight shows, racking up an estimated $18.5 million.

The follow-up to 2005’s “Batman Begins” outstripped the previous midnight record set by Fox’s “Star Wars, Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith” which grossed $16.9 million from 3,663 venues. “Sith” went on to make $50 million in its first day, which was a Thursday. The highest single day opening record is currently held by Sony’s “Spider-man 3″ which made $59.8 million.

“Dark Knight” unspooled in a record number of sites - 4,366 - outstripping the wide bow of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” which touted a theater count of 4,362.

Warner Bros. reported that the $18.5 million did not include 3:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.

“Batman Begins” opened on June 15, 2005, a Wednesday, earning $15.1 million in its first day. Both “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” are directed by Christopher Nolan.

As for the midnight shows themselves, they looked like a laugh - pictures by tech1987, Brendan Falkowskiand Clevergrrl