Chapter 637: Bats and Spiders

No movie could run at a fever pitch indefinitely, and The Dark Knight was no exception. After its North American box office hit 375.66 million dollars in its second weekend, the start of the new week brought an expected, substantial drop in weekday earnings.

Entering its third week of release, The Dark Knight's single-day box office in North America dropped below 20 million dollars for the first time, pulling in 12.36 million on Monday.

Although this represented a single-day plunge of more than 50 percent compared to Sunday, it still crushed all competitors to become the highest-grossing film of the day.

As its direct competitor, I Am Legend continued its momentum from the previous weekend. Market reception was strong, but it still had to survive under the pressure of The Dark Knight, bringing in 7.12 million dollars on Monday.

Over the following three workdays, The Dark Knight and I Am Legend carved up the vast majority of the market share, though the former consistently overshadowed the latter.

In those three days, The Dark Knight grossed 11.85 million, 11.01 million, and 10.28 million dollars respectively in North America. Surprising absolutely no one, the film set a new North American record as the fastest to break the 400-million-dollar mark, hitting 410.88 million in just 13 days.

I Am Legend was visibly outclassed. It grossed 6.23 million, 5.87 million, and 5.66 million dollars over those three days, bringing its cumulative North American box office to 98.77 million—putting the 100-million milestone just within reach.

Before the new weekend even arrived, The Dark Knight's 421.16 million dollar haul essentially locked it in as the North American box office champion for the summer season, and likely the entire year.

And its biggest competitor was undoubtedly Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raimi and produced and distributed by Sony Columbia Pictures.

Spider-Man 3 was a brand new release, while The Dark Knight was already entering its third weekend. The dynamic between them was crystal clear. After the three-day weekend ended, Spider-Man 3 predictably ended The Dark Knight's two-week reign, becoming the second box office champion since the start of the summer season.

Yet only Duke knew just how heavily Spider-Man 3 had been impacted by The Dark Knight and I Am Legend.

This superhero film, which had once set a North American opening weekend record, did manage to meet Sony Columbia's expectations of 130 million dollars. However, the 138.99 million it pulled from 4,220 theaters in its opening week was still a step below the roughly 150 million dollar debut Duke vaguely remembered.

The impact was mutual. The Dark Knight affected Spider-Man 3's attendance, and Spider-Man 3 returned the favor.

This weekend, The Dark Knight saw a substantial box office drop of nearly 60 percent. It grossed 36.8 million dollars over three days, placing second on the charts.

I Am Legend's 30.98 million dollars pushed its cumulative North American total past the 100-million mark.

Meanwhile, in just three weeks of release, The Dark Knight had swept up an incredible 457.96 million dollars from North American theaters. It was an unprecedented miracle in the history of North American—and indeed, global—cinema.

Although overseas, Spider-Man 3 grossed a massive 200 million dollars from 106 countries and regions to end The Dark Knight's absolute dominance, the latter's continued expansion in international markets brought in another 161.22 million, pushing the film's global box office to a towering 804.84 million dollars.

Every company in Hollywood, along with every research firm tied to the film industry and the financial sector, knew exactly what this meant. It was only a matter of time before The Dark Knight crossed 500 million dollars in North America and 1 billion dollars globally.

Driven by this success, the moment the stock market opened on Monday, shares for Warner Brothers and Time Warner simultaneously skyrocketed, with their prices surging over 5 percent in a single day.

Sony Columbia Pictures saw an uptick as well, but their stock's growth margin was far inferior to Warner Brothers'.

The main issue behind this discrepancy stemmed from Spider-Man 3's audience word-of-mouth and market reception. Compared to the fairly decent reputation of the first two installments, this one could only be described as exceedingly mediocre.

In the survey data released by CinemaScore, Spider-Man 3's theatrical audience approval rating was only 65 percent, with an average audience grade of "B".

On the media side, Spider-Man 3 suffered an even more miserable fate. The 56 media outlets tracked by MetaCritic gave it an average score of just 57.

And one had to remember, these were the metrics after a mere three days of release!

Looking at The Dark Knight in contrast, even entering its third weekend, its reputation across all fronts remained ironclad. Setting aside its number one ranking on the IMDB TOP250, the latest survey data from CinemaScore showed its theatrical audience approval rating still sitting above 90 percent, with the audience grade firmly pinned at an "A+".

It went beyond just scores. As two superhero movies featuring Spider-Man and Batman—the most influential characters in all of North America—they were inevitably dragged out by fans and moviegoers for comparison.

"Duke's Batman Series is the quintessential example of getting better with every film, while Sam Raimi's Spider-Man series is the textbook definition of getting worse."

"In The Dark Knight, Duke flawlessly married art and commerce, forging a masterpiece of cinematic history. Looking at Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 in comparison, calling it a passable commercial flick would be too generous."

"One thing is beyond a doubt: Duke's The Dark Knight has set a new benchmark for superhero movies. Its dissection of human nature and the game between good and evil have long transcended the worldbuilding of superheroes themselves. And Spider-Man 3? The plot has too many fatal flaws, and logical loopholes are everywhere..."

"Rather than saying there's a massive gap between Spider-Man 3 and The Dark Knight, it's more accurate to say that Sam Raimi's skill level simply isn't in the same league as Duke Rosenberg's."

Dragged down by extremely mediocre word-of-mouth, Spider-Man 3 burned through the enthusiasm of fans and audiences in its opening weekend. As soon as the work week began, its Monday box office plummeted by 75 percent compared to Sunday, grossing a paltry 9.82 million dollars.

The Dark Knight's box office was also sliding, but its drop was only 40 percent. It pulled in 7.66 million dollars for the day, steadily marching toward the 500-million mark in North America.

By now, it was obvious to everyone. Whether in word-of-mouth or box office revenue, Spider-Man 3 could not pose a true threat to The Dark Knight.

"It seems like every popular character or film that falls into the hands of Sony Columbia Pictures..."

Sitting in a white wicker chair on the ocean-facing side of the garden, Scarlett Johansson spoke to Nancy Josephson across from her. "...ends up rotting away in the end. The 007 Series was like this, and Spider-Man is the same. Does Sony Entertainment have some kind of magic that ruins every movie?"

"Darling, you're being influenced by Duke's prejudice," Nancy Josephson said.

Picking up the white porcelain teapot, Nancy refilled both Scarlett's and her own cup with black tea. "Last year's Casino Royale did decently at the box office."

"Casino Royale?" Scarlett curled her lip. "That new James Bond isn't likable in the slightest. Compared to Pierce Brosnan, he looks like some street punk who crawled out of the slums."

With that, she turned toward Duke, who was busy pruning the flowers. "Darling, am I right?"

"You have a point," Duke said, shoving his shears into the back pocket of his jeans and bending over to gather the severed branches from the ground. "I'm not particularly fond of Daniel Craig's acting style, either."

Watching Duke busying himself, Scarlett added, "You could just leave this to the gardeners."

"I have nothing to do right now, and I'm on vacation," Duke said, dropping the gathered branches into a nearby wastebasket. "I'm treating it as exercise."

The garden naturally had dedicated staff to maintain it. Duke only stepped in when the mood occasionally struck him.

Scarlett withdrew her gaze and shrugged in resignation at Nancy. "Tonight I'll have to tell Emma to get some new plants to replace the ones Duke pruned."

Nancy laughed, drained her black tea, and turned toward Duke. "Has the script for the new project been submitted?"

"It's already been sent to Warner Brothers' review committee," Duke said without looking up.

"Could you do me a small favor?" Nancy asked tentatively.

Duke set the wastebasket down on an empty patch of ground and brushed the dirt from his hands. "Go ahead, darling."

"One of the singers under my agency is quite good..." Nancy Josephson got straight to the point. "How about having her sing the theme song for your new film? She's releasing her first album next year. I believe she has massive potential, but she needs a way to build a following and draw the market's attention."

This was hardly a difficult request. Duke didn't even have to think about it. "As long as her vocal skills are solid and her style fits."

"Her vocals are definitely not an issue..."

Thinking of Duke's upcoming robot-filled blockbuster, Nancy Josephson scratched her head. "But as for her style, she's currently taking the country route..."

"Country?" Duke turned around, looked at Nancy, and thought for a moment. "That's fine, but you'll need to find her a song that complements the entire film."

When it came to pop music, Duke was a complete layman.

"Once the script review is finished, give me a copy," Nancy Josephson added. "She writes her own music and lyrics, so she might be able to compose something suitable herself."

Duke didn't refuse, simply reminding Scarlett Johansson to make a note of it.

After finishing up his task, Duke went over to wash his hands and took a seat at the table. The group chatted about industry affairs, the topic gradually shifting to Duke's upcoming long vacation.

"Where do you and Scar plan to go for your vacation?" Nancy Josephson asked.

"We're planning a trip to Australia, and we'll leave for Wellington the day after tomorrow. James Cameron's new film has officially been greenlit, and most of its scenes will be shot in Weta Studio's soundstages."