Final Results of the Recent Box-Office Champ Poll

In last week's poll in which I asked if you felt that The Dark Knight would surpass Titanic to become the all-time box office champ, just over half of you said yes. There were some good theories by voters as to why The Dark Knight would or wouldn't overtake Titanic. As some of you said, the hype factor surrounding The Dark Knight and the fact that it's Heath Ledger's last completed film may lead it to supplant Titanic at #1. On the other hand, some voters felt that Titanic would remain at the top because it has broader appeal which in turn led to moviegoers paying to see it multiple times.

I have been going back and forth as to what I thought would happen. However, I finally decided that The Dark Knight will fall short in passing up Titanic. The domestic gross of Titanic is at just over 600 million, while The Dark Knight's domestic take sits at $471 million dollars and counting. Last weekend, it took in approximately 16 million dollars. It stands to reason that the weekend take will continue to decline as time passes. Also, the fact that the window between a film's theatrical run and its DVD release is shorter than it was 10 years ago will play a role in The Dark Knight falling short. According to various websites, the DVD release date for The Dark Knight is 12/9/08 (gotta get that Christmas money). Even if The Dark Knight is recognized when the Oscar nominations are announced, it will most likely already be available on DVD. As a result, the studio would probably forgo re-releasing it to theaters in order to capitalize on it's Oscar noms.

Who really knows how it will all shake out in the end. Even if The Dark Knight does fall short, it should still prove to be an interesting race.

Poll question:

Will The Dark Knight surpass Titanic to become the all-time box office champ?

Yes- 52%
No- 47%