'Dark Knight' Rerelease Could Result in Box Office and Oscar Gold

With the Dark Knight, you can envision the Joker shooting golden statuettes from the depths of his sunken eyeballs directly at Batman's heart. And now, Warner Bros. will take its box office money maker straight to the Academy Awards Bank & Trust. Or more specifically, generate even more Batman fever, turning already stricken movie goers into Oscar induced zombies. What?

Let me explain: The Dark Knight will be re-released in January 2009. Which happens to be prime voting season for Academy Award voters, who will be feeling sentimental because January also happens to be a year to the month of the untimely demise of Heath Ledger, who happens to deliver a performance as the Joker, unmatched by any previous actor fulfilling the same role. If Warner Bros. is right (and they are), the buzz of Oscar season, combined with typically slow ticket sales in January may insure an unmatched box office and a posthumous Academy Award for Ledger.

"To date, Dark Knight has rung up about $512 million domestically and $440 million internationally," reports the Hollywood Reporter. This leaves the Dark Knight second only to the once unsinkable box office record of Titanic ($600.8 mil. domestic/$1.24 bil. international). While the Hollywood Reporter appears skeptical that the Dark Knight can surpass Titanic in worldwide ticket sales, I believe the re release will make for one close race. James Cameron better not hold his breath.

Dark Knight plan re release [The Hollywood Reporter]

Oscar Potential No Joke For Ledger's Work

Recognition by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences once you're dead is a rare occurrence. Ever since critics have gotten a glimpse of Heath Ledger's work as the Joker in The Dark Knight, the latest re imagining of the Batman saga, Oscar buzz has been in the air.

The last Oscar given posthumously was awarded to Peter Finch for his 1976 performance in Network. Finch also received an Academy Award nomination for one of the first films with a unabashedly gay theme, Sunday Bloody Sunday in 1971. The similarities between Finch and Ledger stop there.

One of the first critic's to champion the Heath Ledger Oscar cause was Rolling Stone magazine critic Peter Travers. As reported by US Magazine, Travers writes, "I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing-brilliant as the Joker."

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of the superhero genre of action film. And while I love to watch Jack Nicholson in most things, I had little interest in seeing him smeared with clown makeup playing opposite Batman.

As the trailers have graced my television, I have to admit I'm intrigued with this new caricature of the Joker. While I doubt I'll be racing out to the midnight screening on July 19, I plan on catching Ledger's eerily memorable performance. In time for the 81st Academy Awards!

Critic: Heath Ledger should win Oscar [USMagazine.com]