Batman at the Box Office

22 July 2008

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In the sixty years that Batman has been a comic strip it has found success in both print form as well as a lavish and colourful television series in the sixties.

But the movie versions have brought the cult character to a new audience as well as becoming a major box office success.

This weeks sees Christopher Nolan return to the director's chair and Christian Bale reprises the role as the caped crusader after the success of Batman Begins in 2005.

But the whole success of Batman on the big screen had begun in the late eighties when maverick director Tim Burton took the ideas from the lavish coloured TV series and turned it on it's head as he produced a dark film with a shadowy and troubled hero.

Despite these stark changes that Burton made the 1989 movie was a massive box office hit as Keaton's dark and brooding hero, despite the actor being a surprise choice for the lead role, was critical hit.

The film grossed over $411 million at the global box office and, despite the string of movies that have followed, is still the highest grossing DC Comic adaptation at the box office.

The success of the film led to Warner Bros. Animation creating an animation series as well as establishing Batman as a film series which has gone on to become one of cinema's most successful franchises.

Keaton and Burton returned on 1992 for Batman Returns keeping the dark version of the characters and Gotham city that was established in the original movie.

Although it was a critical hit the film grossed $145 million less than the 1989 picture. However with success did come a certain amount of criticism as some felt that it was 'too dark' for younger members of the audience.

When director Joel Schumacher took over the reigns on the third movie Batman Forever it was all change.

With a new director came a new vision and gone was Burton's dark version of Batman replaced instead by a more colourful version of the popular hero.

Val Kilmer took over the lead role and his comic book and television series sidekick Robin was introduced to the film franchise for the very first time.

The film was the most comic like of the whole film series yet despite these major upheavals the film did well at the international box office grossing over $336 million, the third biggest behind Batman and Batman Begins.

But the success met a major stumbling block in 1997 when ER actor George Clooney took over the lead role in Batman & Robin.

Despite opening at number one it was only a moderate success grossing just over $238 million and was savaged by the critics criticised for it's poor script, ludicrous stunts and camp attitude.

The franchise would not be touched for almost a decade.

After a series of unsuccessful attempts to bring the hero back to the big screen Batman finally made it back into cinemas in 2005 with Batman Begins.

Christian Bale took over the role and director Christopher Nolan returned to Burton's dark roots by exploring Bruce Wayne's childhood and early life in a bid for the audience to connect and care for the leading character.

The film was well received by the critics and it became the second highest grossing film in the franchise when it took $370 million at the global box office.

This weeks the darkness intensifies as The Dark Knight, one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, eventually makes it into cinemas.

Picking up where Batman Begins left off the Joker is conducing a reign of terror over the city of Gotham, a crime spree that sees the Joker return to the big screen for the first time in almost twenty years.

Gone is the humours villain that Jack Nicholson made famous in 1989 replaced instead by the schizophrenic, psychopathic, mass murdering vision of Nolan and actor Heath Ledger.

And there is perhaps more hype around the release of this movie after the tragic death of Heath Ledger in January.

The Dark Knight is released 24th July

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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