Holy Box Office! The Bat Beats All! But Can the Joker Beat Hannibal and Darth as the Best Movie Villain Ever?
My Monday box-office reports seem to be running the same news on a continuous loop. Yes, it’s The Dark Knight again.It’s nice that Will Ferrell is back on his game, with Step Brothers grossing a solid $30 million, but do you really care that the second X-Files movie tanked with a paltry $10.2 or that women are still showing up in droves (or $17.8 million worth) to support the tin-eared Mamma Mia? In money terms, The Dark Knight is still the only game in town. Having already scored the best opening day ($67.2 million) and best opening weekend ($158.4 million) in history, the Batman movie now racks up best all-time second weekend ($75.6 million). Total take so far: $314.2 million. Want more? The Dark Knight is now the fastest movie ever to reach $100 million (2 days), $200 million (5 days) and $300 million (10 days). Can $400 million be far away, what with the repeat business? Shrek 2 managed the trick in 43 days. Warner Bros thinks the Batman and his Joker will do it in 18 days. I wouldn’t bet against it. The new goal is $500 million and maybe even a shot at the all-time domestic record — Titanic at $601 million. What do you think? What I’m thinking at this moment is this:
You’ve all had a chance to see The Dark Knight at least once, so let’s vote on the question that’s been nagging at me for weeks”
Is Heath Ledger’s Joker the best movie villain of all time?
Or is it Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal the Cannibal in Silence of the Lambs?
Or how about Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) in Star Wars?
You can put in a write-in vote for a movie villain I’ve missed. But these are the unholy three in my book. Ok, let it rip.