Blu-ray Disc Sales: 'Dark Knight' Tops 600K On Release Day

[Scott]

Disc Sales: 'Dark Knight' Tops 600K On Release Day
Thu Dec 11, 2008 at 01:30 PM ET

'The Dark Knight' has smashed another record.

First-day Blu-ray sales are in for the box office juggernaut, with Warner reporting that the title moved 600,000 units in the US. Canada and the UK since hitting stores Tuesday.

That easily eclipses the first-day high-def sales of previous record-holder 'Iron Man,' which earlier this year topped out at 250,000 in its first 24 hours on shelves.

'The Dark Knight's Blu-ray take also accounted for 20 percent of total video sales for the title.

"Numbers like these in this economic environment firmly establish Blu-ray as where consumers are headed," Kevin Tsujihara, President of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment, told the New York Times.

Well ahead of the studio's reported internal projections, 'The Dark Knight' is already poised to sell over 1,000,000 Blu-ray copies in its first week in stores.
You can read our full review of 'The Dark Knight' here.

You'll find the latest specs for 'First Sunday' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under May 6.

No real surprise here. If I'm being truly honest, this title was what pushed me over the edge in finally picking up a PS3. No other titles truly interested me the way this one did--perhaps all of the marketing hype. I just told myself, I don't want to see this film for the first time on my Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, upconverted. And, it did look and sound stunning.

[zelig2]

It took me three tries to finally see The Dark Knight in the theater because everytime I went the IMAX screen was full. This is one of those movies that I wish I had a way to watch a movie in higher than 1080p resolution. There's so much detail in that film.

[Scott]

I really wish I would have seen it in the IMAX. Did they actually film it in 70mm? 10,000p--now that's HD.

[spudohio]

I saw the movie in both a regular theatre and IMAX. I'll probably get blasted for saying this, but I preferred the movie on a regular screen instead of the IMAX screen. I found the transitions from regular widescreen to IMAX annoying and distracting.

I think the whole movie needed to be shot in IMAX to make it watchable on the IMAX screen.

[bspvette86]

I've never been comfortable watching Imax films. The framerate is too low and seems like a slideshow to me especially in fast motion shots. I'm also one of those people that had to get used to the Rainbow effect on DLP sets, can see the LED taillights flickering on newer cars, and can't stand that the LED Christmas lights flicker so bad... Anything lower than a 85 HZ refresh rate on a CRT drives me nuts as well. <sigh> Too much coffee? :ecstatic:

Cheers!
BV

[Scott]

I saw the movie in both a regular theatre and IMAX. I'll probably get blasted for saying this, but I preferred the movie on a regular screen instead of the IMAX screen. I found the transitions from regular widescreen to IMAX annoying and distracting.

I think the whole movie needed to be shot in IMAX to make it watchable on the IMAX screen.

So they switched between IMAX and standard film :dunno: That would have drove me insane. Like bspvette, things like that get on my nerves.

[spudohio]

So they switched between IMAX and standard film :dunno: That would have drove me insane. Like bspvette, things like that get on my nerves.

Yes, they switched between IMAX and standard film throughout the movie. The only sequences in IMAX were the action sequences (like the bank robbery at the beginning, the skyline shots in China, and the chase scenes toward the end of the movie). For the non-IMAX stuff, there were black bars top and bottom on the IMAX screen (i.e., letterbox).

They did their best to hide the switches (like when changing scenes or during a nighttime scene), and most people I spoke with were not bothered by it. It drove me crazy.

I've heard that they kept the switches intact on the Blu-Ray version. I haven't watched my copy yet because it's a X-Mas gift, so I have to wait.

[Scott]

Yes, they switched between IMAX and standard film throughout the movie. The only sequences in IMAX were the action sequences (like the bank robbery at the beginning, the skyline shots in China, and the chase scenes toward the end of the movie). For the non-IMAX stuff, there were black bars top and bottom on the IMAX screen (i.e., letterbox).

They did their best to hide the switches (like when changing scenes or during a nighttime scene), and most people I spoke with were not bothered by it. It drove me crazy.

I've heard that they kept the switches intact on the Blu-Ray version. I haven't watched my copy yet because it's a X-Mas gift, so I have to wait.

I watched the BRD version and didn't notice any switching--but I was watching it in 1080i, FWIW.

[Chase]

Read a few days ago that Dark Knight Director Christopher Nolan is interested in shooting a whole film in IMAX here's the link.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/12/08/christopher-nolan-wants-to-shoot-an-entire-movie-on-imax/

[spudohio]

I watched the BRD version and didn't notice any switching--but I was watching it in 1080i, FWIW.

That's strange. My copy of the BR-D kept the switches intact. For example, the bank robbery scene at the beginning filled my entire screen. Then, they show a shot of the skyline at night, also filling the whole screen. As soon as the commissioner starts talking on the roof, my screen switches to letterbox, with black bars top and bottom. :dunno:

I am watching in 720P on a Sony BDP-S350 player. I can't imagine that a difference in resolution caused this, though.

[Scott]

That's strange. My copy of the BR-D kept the switches intact. For example, the bank robbery scene at the beginning filled my entire screen. Then, they show a shot of the skyline at night, also filling the whole screen. As soon as the commissioner starts talking on the roof, my screen switches to letterbox, with black bars top and bottom. :dunno:

I am watching in 720P on a Sony BDP-S350 player. I can't imagine that a difference in resolution caused this, though.

Perhaps I just didn't notice it. I'll watch again look for them--I'm surprised because things like that usually bother me.