'Knight' passes $400 million mark

Batman pic in top spot for third weekend

By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

In only its 18th day in release, Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight" reached the $400 million mark in domestic sales on Monday, grossing $6.3 million for a cume of $400.1 million.

That easily beats the 43 days it took "Shrek 2" to jump the $400 million boundary.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, "Dark Knight" has shown remarkable legs, setting records all along the way. Over the weekend, the Batman sequel declined just 43% to $42.7 million from 4,266 theaters to come in No. 1 at the domestic B.O. for the third weekend in a row, and beating new entry "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which opened to $40.5 million, according to Rentrak.

"Dark Knight" has every chance of nearing or crossing $500 million domestically, making it the second highest grossing title of all time after "Titanic," which cumed $600.8 million at the domestic box office.

Tekið úr Variety