Chapter 635: Nothing to Do With Being Serious

Although he believed a 2D film like The Dark Knight could not surpass Titanic at the box office, Duke didn't underestimate its momentum. After all, in just two weeks of release, the film's North American box office was already approaching 400 million dollars.

Overseas, just as Duke had expected, The Dark Knight performed a bit more modestly compared to its North American run, but the numbers were still dazzling.

Over its three-day opening weekend overseas, the film took in 6.57 million dollars in Brazil, 8.68 million in Mexico, 12.94 million in France, 15.62 million in Germany, and 26.09 million in Britain...

In Heath Ledger's home country of Australia, The Dark Knight raked in 18.72 million dollars in its opening weekend, setting a new Australian weekend box office record.

Furthermore, at the recently concluded Brisbane Film Festival, the organizing committee awarded Heath Ledger the Chauvel Award to honor his contributions to the Australian film industry.

All of this fueled the Australian audience's interest in The Dark Knight.

However, The Dark Knight faced a cold reception in one of Hollywood's major box office markets. Japanese audiences had never cared much for superhero movies, and the Batman Series was no exception; the film earned less than 3 million dollars during its opening weekend in Japan.

Even so, the film still captured 185.66 million dollars overseas in its opening weekend, becoming the first movie this year to ignite the global market.

Combining the North American and overseas markets, The Dark Knight's total box office easily broke the 500-million mark, reaching a staggering 561.32 million dollars.

Although the overseas box office was somewhat modest compared to North America, The Dark Knight received explosive word-of-mouth praise in every country it premiered in.

Hong Kong's Oriental Daily News declared that among Hollywood superhero movies, The Dark Knight was exceptionally well-made. It was highly thrilling and suspenseful, not at all childish, and the outstanding CG effects supplemented by practical elements created a compelling visual impact, showing an incredibly high standard both in front of and behind the camera.

Britain's The Times directly quoted several interviewed fans: "The Dark Knight is a rare masterpiece," "The biggest surprise of the summer and the year so far," and "Undoubtedly the best film of 2008."

France's Le Figaro also sang rare praises for a Hollywood film: when was the last time you saw a flawless, thought-provoking, bold, tense, and consistently entertaining blockbuster?

The frenzied box office and word-of-mouth brought more than just massive profits. They also sparked Warner Brothers' considerations for the future, especially regarding the stylistic planning for DC superhero movies.

"Audiences are always looking for fresh stimulation. I think to some extent, they've grown tired of the previous types of superhero movies."

In the Warner Brothers conference room, Jamie Jensen looked over the compiled data and said, "The success of The Dark Knight can give us a lot of hints. I think future DC superhero movies can be made more serious and realistic, instead of taking Marvel's comedic route."

"The Dark Knight has brought Warner Brothers more than just financial gains."

Sitting at the head of the conference table, Doug Walter looked at Duke and said, "It also provides the essential elements of how DC superhero movies should be made."

All the executives nodded. Since there was a successful template, the next step was naturally to continue producing films according to it.

Vice President Robert Solomon also spoke up. "I think upcoming DC superhero movies can eliminate more of those 'fun' elements. The style should be more serious and darker."

Many eyes turned to Duke. DC superhero movies, which had practically been on the brink of ruin, had now achieved unprecedented brilliance for the genre under his hands, making DC's superheroes a hot topic once again...

There was no doubt about the future path of DC superhero movies. Duke possessed a heavyweight say in the matter.

Serious? The Dark Knight wasn't serious at all!

Closing the new Superman script in his hands, Duke looked at the people sitting on both sides of the conference table and said, "I think the script's premise isn't bad. Showing Superman's human side and having Clark Kent find himself is an approach worth acknowledging, but there is one thing..."

Everyone pricked up their ears. Superman was one of the biggest signature characters for DC Comics and Warner Brothers.

"I think the content of the script is too dark; Superman is no longer Superman." Duke thought for a moment, then added, "Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are two completely different characters. Applying the style of The Dark Knight to the new version of Superman is inappropriate."

He looked at Doug Walter. "I think removing the 'fun' elements from the films and building the rest of the DC superhero movies around a serious and dark style is not a wise choice."

A dark style could be used, but according to the intentions of Warner Brothers' management, every single DC superhero would be turned into a sorrowful character, strictly adhering to a "no joking" principle.

This kind of trend-following behavior was clearly an overcorrection.

Duke knew very well that Hollywood was an industry where blindly following trends was extremely rampant.

For example, in the past, when Hollywood saw the success of Avatar, they only focused on its 3D effects and decided to release as many 3D films as possible in theaters. When several major studios saw the success of Inception, they didn't think, 'Oh, so audiences like watching high-quality original sci-fi movies.' Instead, they thought, 'Let's remake films like Total Recall...'

The success of The Dark Knight brought more than just Warner Brothers' trend-following with DC superhero movies. Other companies acted even faster. For example, Sony Columbia Pictures, which had obtained the rights to The Mask of Zorro from DreamWorks, had struggled for years to produce a sequel due to various issues. But just this Monday, they announced that the project was officially moving forward, claiming that the new version of Zorro wouldn't be a traditional swashbuckling film, but would be closer to the style of The Dark Knight, showcasing the character's personality through a brand-new backstory, a realistic style, and an emotional core.

Furthermore, amidst The Dark Knight's frantic box office run in North America, some companies and market research firms had come to believe that audiences no longer liked "fun" superheroes.

Robert Solomon didn't seem to agree with Duke, saying, "But The Dark Knight..."

"I did use a dark style and realistic techniques in The Dark Knight, but they all had to adhere to one principle," Duke interrupted Robert Solomon directly, slightly raising his voice. "What they deliver must be an exciting, lively, and fun big-screen entertainment experience!"

No matter how dark and realistic it was, The Dark Knight was still a highly entertaining commercial blockbuster!

As a major shareholder of Warner Brothers and a board member of Time Warner, Duke knew the success or failure of DC superhero movies directly concerned his vital interests. He didn't want to see the franchise go further and further down the path of blindly becoming darker, just as it had in the past.

Just as he had just said, a dark style could be used appropriately, but they absolutely could not completely eliminate those "fun" elements.

Duke raised his voice again to emphasize his point. "I'm not going to waste time here quoting the fun lines and scenes from The Dark Knight. All of you have seen the film and have your own preferences. Anyone who thinks this movie is strictly serious either has never seen it or strongly dislikes the performances of Michael Caine and Laurence Fishburne."

Then, he looked toward the head of the conference table. "During filming, I once told Doug that this series would be suitable for teenagers, and even for children around thirteen years old. I kept exactly that in mind during filming and production."

Although the MPAA could also be lobbied, The Dark Knight's PG-13 rating was enough to explain a lot.

The Dark Knight was indeed heavy, but it had nothing to do with being serious. Seriousness is often the antithesis of entertainment.

As everyone knew, entertainment value and a PG-13 rating were foundational conditions for a film to become a massive hit.

The Dark Knight became a box office blockbuster not because it was serious, dark, and gloomy, but because the vast majority of its content was a high-quality, meticulously thought-out, and ingeniously conceived piece of entertainment. At the same time, it possessed gripping thrills, genuine humor, and captivating characters.

The film indeed touched upon dark themes, and it featured characters burdened by their own mental instability, but as a whole, it was still full of vitality and humor.

Some people believed that the reason The Dark Knight achieved such immense success was because it was "gloomy, serious, and realistic." This view was far too simplistic.

Just as The Sixth Sense grossed nearly 300 million dollars in North America not solely because of its shocking twist, Avatar raked in 2.7 billion dollars globally not merely because it was a 3D movie.

"Duke, if we don't completely follow the style of The Dark Knight," Doug Walter asked, looking his way, "then what is your suggestion..."

Frowning slightly, Duke considered it for a few seconds before saying, "There are multiple reasons for a film's success or failure. It's a very dangerous practice to always attribute it to a single factor. Besides, the important thing is that hit films—especially super hits—become massive successes because they are all-around entertainment works of a certain quality."

"I think a dark style can be used, but it shouldn't be abused," Duke concluded. "We can let Clark Kent find himself, but we can't let him wallow in inescapable pain like Bruce Wayne. It would be even more inappropriate for other characters like Aquaman and Wonder Woman."

Compared to Marvel's relatively lighthearted and entertaining route, DC's heroes were admittedly a bit more bitter and deeply aggrieved. But if they were all completely darkened, audiences would inevitably grow tired of them.

Of course, being strictly serious was essentially poison to any superhero movie.