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Holy wheel barrels of money, Batman!

Kim Hollis: The Dark Knight broke the record for best opening weekend with $158.4 million. How surprised are you by this result?

Max Braden: I'm surprised that it was big enough to break the record. It counterproves my dark/light theory of cinematography and box office success. I was expecting at least a few people in the country to say "no thanks, reality is grim enough for me already, you go on without me."

Pete Kilmer: I'm truly stunned by how much this made.

Calvin Trager: If you recall, the staff had a spirited debate about a month ago whether or not $100 million would be breached, with the consensus being that a result in the high $90s was more realistic given the tone and the franchise's history. So, yeah, surprised as all get out.

David Mumpower: I recently stated that I felt this movie could surpass Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest to become the second biggest opener of all-time. I did not feel like Spider-Man 3's record was in play here due to the malevolent tone of The Dark Knight. Spider-Man 3 appealed to children more while this title seemed to want to scare them away. So, it's only about $20 million more than I had expected, but I am shocked nonetheless. That last $20 million is everything.

Tim Briody: There just aren't any words. People pretty much conceded that this was going to be a $100 million opener by the start of the week and then it just kept rising from there. Any talk of beating Spider-Man 3 was generally crazy until about midnight Thursday, right around when the first screenings started.





Joel Corcoran: Like everyone else, I was stunned. I knew The Dark Knight would hit break the top ten of all-time opening weekends, and I didn't think a top five showing was out of the question. But to beat out Spider-Man 3 so convincingly just leaves me stunned and amazed. Stunned, amazed, and thrilled, actually, 'cause I detest Spider-Man 3.

Daron Aldridge: I was stunned to hear of the colossal $67 million total from Friday and had no clue that it would explode like that. I knew awareness and anticipation was very high but sweet Jeebus, that was unreal. Based upon the performance of Batman Begins, I was thinking about mid-$120s. That being said, I couldn't be more ecstatic that the best superhero around now holds the record.

Sean Collier: Earlier in the week, I had a long conversation with friends, explaining why Dark Knight was going to do very well, but come nowhere near the record. Now they all think I'm a moron. Thanks, Dark Knight.

Scott Lumley: I'm not really surprised at all. It was timed perfectly, marketed perfectly and featured one of the most astonishing performances of all time by an actor that left us way too soon. If anything, I think this was a little beneath my expectations.

Jamie Ruccio: Honestly, I wasn't surprised. Batman Begins was critically and financially successful. There was, I thought, tremendous home-grown interest months in advance. This interest was only intensified with the unfortunate death of Heath Ledger and the advanced word on the quality of his performance. There was a smart online campaign. It's traditionally been a very successful franchise.

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