We told you movie tickets were more expensive than ever!
$400 million and counting at the domestic box office may seem fantastic for "The Dark Knight Rises," but there's still 91 films that sold more tickets—including some unexpected movies like 1946's "Duel in the Sun," 1953's "The Robe," and 1965's "Doctor Zhivago."
A little time on Box Office Mojo shows that the finale to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is on pace to not only finish behind "The Dark Knight," but well behind Tim Burton's 1989 film as well, Movies.com noticed.
Nolan's finale sold 12 million tickets less than Burton's original, which in turn sold 12 million less than "Dark Knight." To be fair, "Rises" will likely bring that figure down to 10 million by the time it finishes its run, but take a look at the three movies' ticket sales:
1. "The Dark Knight" (2008) — 74,282,100 (average ticket price: $7.18)
2. "Batman" (1989) — 62,954,600 (atp: $3.97)
3. "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) — 50,635,700 (tap: $8.02)
How does that translate into box office? Check out their total domestic grosses (Note: "Rises" is still in theaters):
1. "The Dark Knight" — $533,345,358
2. "The Dark Knight Rises" — $412,665,020
3. "Batman" — $251,188,924
But when adjusted for ticket inflation, those numbers shift, moving "Batman" ahead of "Rises" and "Dark Knight" close to the final gross of this year's biggest hit, "The Avengers," ($618 million) which benefitted from 3D surcharges:
1. "The Dark Knight" — $595,742,300
2. "Batman" — $504,896,000
3. "The Dark Knight Rises" — $407,582,900
The record holder is 1939's "Gone with the Wind" with over 200 million tickets sold. That's a far more impressive looking number than its $198 million domestic gross, and puts it miles past "Titanic" (135 million), "Avatar" (97 million), and this year's biggest hit, "The Avengers" (76 million).
Don't feel too bad for Nolan's latest, though. Overseas, "Rises" has already surpassed "Dark Knight's" overseas grosses and is still going strong.
Just know that while ticket prices continue to rise, box office records will continue to break, even though less people will have seen the movies. Ticket sales is a gauge that will withstand time and inflation, and it's unlikely any film will ever break the "Gone with the Wind's" record.
