‘Dark Knight’ sets box office record with $66.4M

Saturday a.m. Update:

A Warner Bros. executive says the Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” has set a single-day box office record by taking in $66.4 million on opening day. This includes the $18.4 million midnight to 3am showings. The movie’s Friday haul surpasses the previous record of $59.8 million set last year by “Spider-Man 3.” “The Dark Knight” also might break the opening weekend record of $151.1 million that also was posted by “Spider-Man 3.” Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman says the death of co-star Heath Ledger and the buzz about his frenzied performance as the Batman villain Joker was a big part of the movie’s allure.

Will the numbers for “the Dark Knight” go up or down today? And by how much? It has to beat “Spiderman 3’s” Saturday $51.3 million.

Source: AP