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The Dark Knight
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Christopher Nolan
Screenplay by	Jonathan Nolan Christopher Nolan
Story by	Christopher Nolan David S. Goyer
Based on	Characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics
Produced by	Emma Thomas Charles Roven Christopher Nolan
Starring	Christian Bale Michael Caine Heath Ledger Gary Oldman Aaron Eckhart Maggie Gyllenhaal Morgan Freeman
Cinematography	Wally Pfister
Edited by	Lee Smith
Music by	Hans Zimmer James Newton Howard
Production companies	Warner Bros. Pictures Legendary Pictures Syncopy
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	July 14, 2008 (2008-07-14) (New York City) July 18, 2008 (2008-07-18) (United States) July 25, 2008 (2008-07-25) (United Kingdom)
Running time	152 minutes
Countries	United States United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$185 million
Box office	$1.006 billion

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy. In the film's plot, the superhero vigilante Batman, Police Lieutenant James Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent form an alliance to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City, but their efforts are derailed by the intervention of an anarchistic mastermind, the Joker, who seeks to test how far Batman will go to save the city from complete chaos. The ensemble cast includes Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman.

Warner Bros. Pictures prioritized a sequel following the successful reinvention of the Batman franchise with Batman Begins. Nolan developed the core story elements alongside Begins co-writer David S. Goyer, making Dent the central protagonist and tragic hero caught in the battle between Batman and the Joker. In writing the screenplay, the Nolans were influenced by various 1980s Batman comics and crime drama films while continuing the heightened reality tone of Begins. Filming took place from April to November 2007, on a $185 million budget, on location in Chicago, Hong Kong, and on sets in England. The Dark Knight is the first major motion picture filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras. Nolan avoided using computer-generated imagery unless necessary, insisting on practical stunts including flipping an 18-wheel truck and blowing up a factory.

The Dark Knight was marketed with an innovative interactive viral campaign that partially focused on countering the initial backlash to Ledger's casting by those who believed he was a poor choice to portray the iconic character. Ledger died from an accidental drug overdose in January 2008, leading to widespread attention from the press and public regarding his performance. Released in July, The Dark Knight broke several box office records and went on to become the highest-grossing film of the year, fourth highest-grossing film of its time, and the highest-grossing superhero film. It received critical acclaim for its mature tone and themes, visual style, and performances, particularly Ledger's, for which he received several posthumous awards including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making The Dark Knight the first comic book film to receive a major Academy Award.

Since its release, The Dark Knight has been assessed as one of, if not the greatest superhero films ever made, one of the best films of the 2000s, and among the best films ever made. It was considerably influential on films eager to emulate its success by emulating its gritty and realistic tone to varying degrees of success and is considered the "blueprint" for modern superhero films, particularly for rejecting a comic book style for a genre film that happens to feature comic book characters. The Dark Knight has been analyzed for its themes regarding terrorism, as well as the limitations of morality and ethics. The United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2020. The film was followed by The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, concluding The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Plot

A gang of masked criminals rob a Mafia-owned bank in Gotham City, each betraying the other until the sole survivor, the Joker, reveals himself as the mastermind and escapes with the money. A secret alliance is formed between the vigilante Batman, district attorney Harvey Dent, and police lieutenant Jim Gordon to eliminate Gotham's organized crime. Batman's alter-ego, billionaire Bruce Wayne, publicly supports Dent as Gotham's legitimate protector, believing his success will allow Batman to retire so Wayne can romantically pursue his childhood friend Rachel Dawes, despite her relationship with Dent.

The Mafia crime bosses gather to discuss protecting their organizations from Batman, the police, and the Joker, who interrupts the meeting and offers to kill Batman for half of the vast cash fortune their accountant, Lau, concealed before fleeing to Hong Kong to avoid extradition. Lau is recovered to Gotham police custody by Batman, and his testimony enables Dent to apprehend the crime families. In response, the bosses accept Joker's offer, and he kills high-profile targets involved in the trial including the police commissioner and judge, but Gordon sacrifices himself to save the mayor. Joker threatens that his attacks will continue until Batman unmasks. He later targets Dent at a fundraising dinner and throws Rachel out of a window, but Batman rescues her. Wayne struggles to understand the Joker's motives, but his butler, Alfred Pennyworth, surmises that some people simply want to see the world burn.

Dent confesses to being Batman to lure out the Joker, who attacks the police convoy transporting him. Batman and Gordon, who faked his death, apprehend him, earning Gordon a promotion to commissioner. At the police station, Batman interrogates the Joker, who admits he finds the vigilante entertaining and has no intention of killing him. Having deduced Batman's feelings for Rachel, the Joker reveals that she and Dent are being held separately in buildings rigged to explode. Batman races to save Rachel while Gordon goes after Dent, but they discover the Joker switched their positions. Rachel is killed in the explosion, and although Dent is rescued, his face is severely burned on one side. The Joker escapes custody, extracts the fortune's location from Lau, and burns it all.

Wayne Enterprises accountant Coleman Reese deduces Batman's secret identity and attempts to disclose it publicly, but the Joker threatens to blow up a hospital unless Reese is killed. While the police evacuate hospitals and Gordon struggles to keep Reese alive, Joker meets with a disillusioned Dent, convincing him to take justice into his own hands and avenge Rachel. Dent defers his decision-making to his half-scarred, two-headed coin, killing the corrupt officers and Mafia men who contributed to Rachel's death. As panic grips the city, the Joker reveals that two evacuation ferries, one carrying civilians and the other prisoners, are rigged to explode at midnight unless one group sacrifices the other. To the Joker's disbelief, the passengers ultimately refuse to kill one another, and Batman subdues but refuses to kill him. Before the police arrest the Joker, he gloats that although Batman proved incorruptible, his plan to corrupt Dent has succeeded.

Dent takes Gordon's family hostage, blaming his negligence for Rachel's death. He flips his coin to decide their fates but falls to his death after Batman tackles him to save Gordon's son. Believing Dent is the hero the city needs, Batman takes the blame for his death and actions, and convinces Gordon to conceal the truth. In the aftermath, Pennyworth burns an undelivered message to Wayne from Rachel, confessing she chose Dent, and Batman destroys the invasive surveillance network that helped him find the Joker. Dent is mourned by the city as a hero, while the police launch a manhunt for Batman.

Cast

• Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A wealthy socialite, traumatized as a child by his parents' murder, who secretly operates as the heroic vigilante Batman
• Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth: Wayne's father-figure, trusted butler, and confidant
• Heath Ledger as the Joker: A criminal mastermind and anarchist determined determined to sow chaos and corruption throughout Gotham
• Gary Oldman as James Gordon: One of the few honest officers in the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) who assists Batman's war on crime
• Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent / Two-Face: Gotham's noble district attorney turned violent vigilante
• Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes: Gotham's assistant district attorney and Wayne's childhood friend, who is torn between her feelings for him and Dent
• Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox: Wayne Enterprises' CEO who supplies Batman's crusade with technology and equipment

The Dark Knight features Eric Roberts, Michael Jai White, and Ritchie Coster as crime bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and the Chechen, and Chin Han portrays Lau, a Chinese criminal banker. The GCPD cast includes Colin McFarlane as commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, Keith Szarabajka and Ron Dean as detectives Stephens and Wuertz, and Monique Gabriela Curnen as rookie detective Anna Ramirez.

The cast also includes Joshua Harto as Wayne Enterprises employee Coleman Reese, Anthony Michael Hall as news reporter Mike Engel, Nestor Carbonell appears as mayor Anthony Garcia, William Fichtner as a bank manager, Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Judge Surrillo, David Dastmalchian as Thomas Schiff, the Joker's paranoid schizophrenic henchman, Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. as a prisoner, and Beatrice Rosen as Wayne's Russian ballerina date. Melinda McGraw, Nathan Gamble, and Hannah Gunn portray Gordon's wife Barbara, son James Jr., and his daughter. The Dark Knight features several cameo appearances, including Cillian Murphy, who reprises his role as Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow from the previous film, musical performer Matt Skiba, as well as United States Senator and life-long Batman fan Patrick Leahy, who has appeared or voiced characters in other Batman media.

Production

Development

Following the critical and financial success of Batman Begins in 2005, a sequel was a priority for the Warner Bros. Pictures studio. Although Begins ended with a scene of Batman being presented with a Joker playing card, teasing the introduction of the comic book character's archenemy, the Joker, Nolan said he had no intention of making a sequel and was not sure that Begins would be successful enough to warrant one. Even so, he had discussed ideas for a sequel with co-writer David Goyer, who developed ideas for a second and potential third film. Nolan remained unsure what the sequel story would cover but admitted he found the idea of realizing the Joker character in the grounded, realistic style established in Begins to be interesting. Neither he nor his wife and Begins producer, Emma Thomas, had ever developed a sequel, and wanted to ensure that its story would be a consistent but relevant continuation of the original's narrative. Discussions between the studio and Nolan began shortly after Begins's theatrical release and, following the production of Nolan's The Prestige (2006), development began in earnest.

Writing

Nolan and Goyer collaborated for about three months to develop The Dark Knight's core plot points. A major theme they wanted to explore was "escalation". The joker playing card scene was intended to convey the fallacy of Batman's belief that his war on crime would be temporary, and with The Dark Knight they wanted to show that his extraordinary efforts against common crimes would lead to a similar escalation by his enemies, attracting the Joker, who wields terrorism as a weapon. Nolan said they did not intentionally include real-world parallels to terrorism, the war on terror, and laws enacted to combat terrorists by the United States (U.S.) government, because they believed that making overt political statements would detract from the story, but they did want to present a story that would resonate and reflect contemporary audiences to make it more interesting. The Dark Knight, he said, originated from his own "fear of anarchy", and the Joker represented a "distillation of that force."

Goyer was a fan of the 1989 Batman film, featuring Jack Nicholson as the Joker, but he did not consider this interpretation to be scary and wanted The Dark Knight's version to be like the "shark in Jaws", an unknowable, fully-formed entity without a "cliché" origin story. They did not want the Joker to have an origin or undergo a character arc, believing he would be scarier if nothing is known about him, describing origin tales that undermined the threat of villains such as Hannibal Lecter or Darth Vader. Nolan described the film as the "rise of the Joker."

Once the story was complete, Nolan's brother Jonathan spent six months writing the first screenplay draft, with Nolan's feedback, before submitting it to Warner Bros. for approval. He worked on the screenplay for two more months until Nolan completed his work on The Prestige, at which point the pair collaborated on the final script over the next six months while pre-production took place. Jonathan found the most interesting aspect to be the "poignant" ending, which always depicted Batman on the run from the authorities, but was changed from fleeing across rooftops to escaping on the Batpod, and believed the most important line of dialogue was "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain," which came late in development. The pair maintainted the realistic tone from Begins and did not attempt to replicate a comic book style, leading to the narrative resembling a crime drama such as The Godfather (1972) or Heat (1995), than a traditional superhero film. They were also influenced by the work of writer Frank Miller's 1980s comic books, which portrayed comic book characters more seriously, and the comic book limited series, Batman: The Long Halloween (1996–1997), which depicted the collaborative relationship between Batman, Dent, and Jim Gordon.

The pair determined that Harvey Dent, not Bruce Wayne/Batman, would be The Dark Knight's central character and protagonist, with Nolan stating the film's title referred to him as much as Batman. They wrote the "tragic hero" as the "heart" of the film, believing he possessed a similar light and dark duality as Batman, which would make for interesting drama. The character served as the focal point of the battle between Batman, who sees Dent as the hero he cannot be, and the Joker, who wants to prove that anyone can be corrupted when pushed far enough. This led to the Batman character being written to not change significantly over the course of the film.

Nolan found the Joker the easiest character to write for, drawing influence from the character's historical comic book appearances and, alongside Jonathan, identifying the traits common to the various incarnations. He also had Jonathan watch director Fritz Lang's films featuring fictional the villain, Dr. Mabuse. The Joker-centric one-shot graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke (1988), by Alan Moore, did not influence the overall narrative, but Nolan believed Moore's interpretation of the character being partially driven by the need to prove that anyone can become like him when pushed too far, helped give purpose to an "inherently purposeless" character. The pair wrote the Joker as a pure evil "full psychopath" and anarchist, absent of reason, logic, or fear, who could present a true adversary to the fearsome Batman, and test the moral and ethical limits of the superhero, Dent, and Gordon. Nolan and his brother later realized they had inadvertently written their interpretation similarly to his original comic book appearance in Batman #1 (1940). As with the ending of Begins, Nolan said that the final scene between Batman and the Joker, in which the Joker expresses that he and Batman are destined to battle forever, was not intended to tease a sequel narrative, but convey the diametrically opposed pair were trapped in an eternal conflict, because Batman will not kill the Joker, and the Joker does not want to completely defeat Batman.

Casting

Christian Bale reprised his role as Bruce Wayne / Batman. He described how his character had evolved from a young, naive, and angry man seeking purpose to a hero now burdened by the reality that his mission has attracted criminals such as the Joker. The character's dilemma, he said, was whether " something that has an end. Can he quit and have an ordinary life?" He did not gain as much muscle for The Dark Knight because the new Batsuit design let him be more agile, and continued training in the Keysi fighting method for combat scenes. Nolan had deliberately obscured the action in Begins because it depicted Batman from the criminals' point-of-view, but was able to show off more of Bale's efforts because of the new costume.

Nolan was conscious that the popular and iconic portrayal of the Joker character by Nicholson in Batman would invite comparisons to his version and wanted an actor who could cope with the scrutiny. The announcement of Ledger's casting in August 2006, led to some backlash by industry professionals and the public who considered him inappropriate for the role, but executive producer Charles Roven believed the positive reception to Begins would help alleviate any concerns. Although other actors, such as Lachy Hulme were considered, Roven said Ledger was the only person ever seriously considered. Nolan was undeterred in the casting, as discussions between himself and Ledger had shown they had similar ideas on how to portray the Joker and how to explore the performance.

Ledger said he enjoyed Nicholson's Joker and admitted some trepidation in following his performance, but admitted the idea also excited him as an actor and that their versions would ultimately be very different. He described his character as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy", and avoided humanizing him. The character drew influence from many sources, including Alex in the crime film A Clockwork Orange (1971), as well as British musicians Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious.

Ledger spent about a month generally secluded in a hotel room, reading relevant comic books, and developing a unique voice, mixing a high- and low-pitch, inspired by ventriloquist performances, as well as developing an improvisational and erratic fighting style befitting his character. He also spent four months before filming developing a "Joker diary" containing images and elements he believed would resonate with his character, such as finding the condition AIDS humorous. Describing his performance, Ledger said: "It's the most fun I've had with a character and probably will ever have ... It was an exhausting process. At the end of the day, I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I was absolutely wrecked." In a November 2007 interview, Ledger admitted that when committing himself to any role he struggled to sleep due to difficulties relaxing his mind, and sometimes had only two hours of sleep a night while filming The Dark Knight.

For Harvey Dent, Nolan wanted an actor with an all-American "heroic presence" he likened to actor Robert Redford, but with an undercurrent of anger or darkness. Josh Lucas, Ryan Phillippe, and Mark Ruffalo were considered, while Matt Damon could not commit due to scheduling conflicts. Nolan believed Eckhart possessed the all-American charm and "aura... of a good man pushed too far." Eckhart enjoyed playing conflicted characters because he found them more interesting. He said the difference between Dent and Batman is how far they are willing to go for their cause, and that following Dent's corruption he remains a crime fighter but taken to an extreme because he dislikes the restrictions of the law. His performance was influenced by the Kennedy family, particularly Robert F. Kennedy, who took on organized crime with a similarly "idealistic" view of the law. During discussions on how to portray Dent's transformation into Two-Face, Eckhart and Nolan agreed to ignore Tommy Lee Jones's "colorful" portrayal in Batman Forever (1995), featuring pink hair and a split designer suit, in favor of a slightly burnt, neutral-toned suit to retain realism.

Reprising his role as GCPD sergeant James Gordon, Oldman described his character as the "incorruptible, virtuous, strong, heroic, but understated" moral center of The Dark Knight. He considered portraying a morally good character to be difficult because he had to be more restrained, but accepted he is there to support more important characters such as Batman and the Joker. Maggie Gyllenhaal took over the role of Rachel Dawes from Katie Holmes, who instead chose to star in the crime comedy Mad Money (2008). Gyllenhaal approached Rachel as a new character and did not reference Holmes's previous performance. Nolan described Rachel as the emotional connection between Wayne and Dent, ultimately serving as a further tragedy to fuel Wayne's character. Gyleenhaal collaborated with Nolan on depicting the character, because she wanted Rachel to be important and meaningful in her relatively minor role. Musician Dwight Yoakam turned down a role as the bank manager or a corrupt cop as he was recording his album, Dwight Sings Buck.

Pre-production

Pre-production began with set construction for locations such as the Bat Bunker, the replacement for Batman's cave, and preparing locations in England and Chicago. In October 2006, location scouting took place in cities including Liverpool, Glasgow, and London, as well as parts of Yorkshire, as well as several U.S. cities to portray Gotham City. Nolan chose Chicago because he liked the area and believed it offered interesting architectural features that were not as recognizable as locations in places such as New York City. Chicagoan authorities had also been supportive during the filming of Begins, allowing the production to shut down stretches of roads, freeways, and bridges. Nolan wanted to exchange the more natural, scenic settings of Begins, such as the Himalayas or caverns, for a modern, structured environment into which the Joker could insert anarchy. Crowley said the clean, neat lines of Chicago enhanced the urban crime drama they wanted to make and conveyed that Batman had helped improve the city, over the more "theatrical" setting of Begins. The destruction of Wayne manor in Begins also provided an opportunity to move Wayne to a modern, sparse penthouse, reflecting the loneliness of his existence. Sets were still used for some interiors, such as the Bat bunker, a replacement for the Bat cave, on the outskirts of the city. The production team considered placing it in the penthouse basement but believed it was too unrealistic a solution.

Much of The Dark Knight was filmed using Panavision's Panaflex Millennium XL and Platinum, but Nolan wanted to film about 40 minutes with IMAX cameras, a high-resolution technology using 70 mm film instead of the more common 35mm, although only about 15–20% of the finished film used it, equal to about 28 minutes. This made it the first major motion picture to employ the technology, generally employed for documentaries, which Nolan believed would emphasize the greater scope of The Dark Knight. However, the studio was reluctant to endorse the technology because the cameras were large and unwieldy, as well as the film stock and its processing cost up to four times as much as typical 35mm film. Nolan said that if the cameras could be used on Mount Everest they would work for The Dark Knight and had cinematographer Wally Pfister and his crew begin training to use the equipment in January 2007, to prove its feasibility. Nolan particularly wanted to film the prologue bank heist scene in IMAX to immediately convey the difference in scope between The Dark Knight and Batman Begins.

Filming in Chicago

Principal photography began on April 18, 2007, in Chicago, on a $185 million budget. Pfister wanted to retain the "dusk"-like color scheme of The Prestige, combining cobalt blues, greens, blacks, and whites with the rust-style visuals of Begins, which helped address issues of some of its scenes being too dark. The project was given the working title Rory's First Kiss while in Chicago to lower its profile, but it was still quickly uncovered by publications. The first chronological scene, the prologue bank heist, was the first scene filmed, taking place in the Old Chicago Main Post Office. It was scheduled early in production to test how the IMAX footage looked, allowing it to be refilmed with traditional cameras if necessary, and so it could be released separately as part of the marketing schedule. Pfister described it as a week of patience and learning as they had to wait four days for the IMAX footage to process to see the result.

After five days, filming moved to England throughout May, returning to Chicago in June. Scenes were filmed in the lobby of One Illinois Center which served as Bruce's penthouse apartment (bookcases were built to hide the elevators), while a floor of Two Illinois Center was decorated for Wayne's fundraiser. The crew was generally excited for this scene as it was the first confrontation between Batman and the Joker. The windows of both areas were covered in greenscreen, allowing visuals of Gotham City to be inserted later. The Joker's self-made propaganda videos were filmed and mainly directed by Ledger who provided a variety of different takes. Caine said that watching one video during a scene caused him to forget his lines because Ledger's performance was "stunning." The chase scene between Batman's Tumbler and the Joker's truck vying for Dent, was filmed in July, primarily on Wacker Drive, a multi-level street that was closed nightly for filming over three weeks. The scene was filmed in IMAX, and included a crashing armored truck and a SWAT van crashing through a concrete barricade, a scene added by Nolan during filming. The chase continued on to LaSalle Street, featuring a practical truck flip stunt, and helicopter sequence that was combined with CGI to show it crashing into the road. Additional segments were filmed on Monroe Street, Randolph Street, and Randolph Street Station. LaSalle Street was also used for the police funeral procession scene.

Navy Pier, along the shore of Lake Michigan, served as Gotham harbor for the climactic ferry scene. Scouts spent over a month searching for vessels until construction coordinator Joe Ondrejko built ferry facades atop barges. The entire ferry sequence was filmed in a single day, involving 800 extras who were moved through makeup and clothing departments in shifts. Exterior footage of the Gotham Prewitt Building, the site of Batman's and Joker's final confrontation, was filmed at the in-construction Trump International Hotel and Tower, but the owners refused permission to film a stunt of a SWAT team being neutralized by Batman and suspended from the building so this was filmed from the fortieth floor of a separate building site.The Gotham General Hospital explosion was filmed in August, using a former Brach's candy factory on Cicero Avenue scheduled for demolition. The Chicago filming phase concluded on September 1, with scenes of Wayne driving and subsequently crashing his Lamborghini, before returning to England.

Other Chicago locations used in the production included: Lake Michigan which doubled as the Caribbean Sea when Wayne boards a seaplane; Richard J. Daley Center (Wayne Enterprises exteriors and a courtroom); The Berghoff restaurant (GCPD arresting gangsters); Twin Anchors restaurant, the Sound Bar, McCormick Place (Wayne Enterprises interiors), and the Chicago Theatre. 330 North Wabash served as offices used by Dent, mayor Garcia, and commissioner Loeb, and its thirteenth floor appears as Wayne Enterprises' boardroom, its large panoramic windows and natural light enhanced by Pfister enhanced with an 80 ft glass table and reflective bulbs. A Randolph Street parking garage is where Batman captures the Scarecrow and copy-cat Batman. Nolan wanted several Rottweillers in the scene, and it was difficult to locate a dog handler willing to manage several of them simultaneously. A scene of Batman surveying the city from a rooftop edge was filmed atop Willis Tower, Chicago's tallest building. Stuntman Buster Reeves was intended to stand in as Batman, but Bale convinced the filmmakers to let him perform the scene himself. The thirteen weeks of filming in Chicago was estimated to have generated $45 million for the city's economy and thousands of local jobs.

Filming in England and Hong Kong

Many interior locations for The Dark Knight were filmed on sets built at Pinewood Studios (Buckinghamshire) and Cardington Airfield (Bedfordshire), including Bat bunker, which took six weeks to build in a Cardington hangar. Based on 1960s building designs in Chicago, it integrated an existing concrete floor and used the 200 ft long, 8ft tall ceiling to create a broad perspective, but the 160 ft tall hangar was unsuitable for hanging the bunker roof and an encompassing gantry was built to hold the roof and lighting. After moving from Chicago in May, scenes filmed included those in the Bat bunker, the Criterion Restaurant (where Rachel, Dent, Wayne, and his date share dinner), and a Gotham News scene filmed at University of Westminster. The GCPD headquarters was rebuilt in the Farmiloe Building. During the interrogation scene, Ledger asked Bale to actually hit him, and although he declined, Ledger cracked and dented the walls by throwing himself around.

After again returning to England in the middle of September, scenes were filmed for the ferry, hospital, and Gotham Prewitt building interiors. By mid-October, interior and exterior scenes of Rachel being held hostage surrounded by barrels of gasoline were filmed at Battersea Power Station. Because it was a listed building, a false wall was built in front of it and lined with explosives to make it appear to be destroyed with damaging the building itself. Some nearby residents believed the explosion was a terrorist attack and contacted emergency services. Filming in England concluded at the end of October with a variety of green screen shots for the truck chase sequence, and shots of Rachel being thrown from a building window, which was accomplished on a partial set at Cardington with stuntpersons in descender rigs.

The final nine days of filming took place in Hong Kong, including aerial footage shot from the top of the International Finance Centre, and locations such as Central to Mid-Levels escalator, The Center, Central, The Peninsula Hong Kong, and Queen's Road, as well as a stunt featuring Batman catching an in-flight C-130 aircraft. Despite extensive rehearsals of Reeves jumping from the McClurg Building in Chicago, a planned stunt to depict Batman leaping from one skyscraper to another was canceled because Hong Kong authorities refused permission for helicopter use. Pfister described the officials as a "nightmare." A separate scene of Batman leaping into Victoria Harbour was reportedly canceled because of the polluted waters, although Nolan said it was a script decision. The 127-day shoot concluded on November 15, on time and under budget.

Post production

Editing was underway when Ledger died in January 2009, aged 28, from an accidental prescription drug overdose. Rumors circulated that his commitment to the Joker performance had affected his mental state, although this was later proven false. Nolan described it as "tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day  ... but the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish." Ledger had completed his contribution to The Dark Knight and Nolan did not modify or change the character's narrative in response. Because Nolan preferred to effectively record sound while filming instead of compensating later with re-recorded dialogue, Ledger's work had been fully captured before his passing. Nolan added a dedication to Ledger and stuntman Conway Wickliffe who died during rehearsals for a Tumbler stunt.

Nolan participated in the editing process alongside lead editor Lee Smith. They took an "aggressive editorial approach" to The Dark Knight to develop its 152-minute runtime. Nolan said there were no deleted scenes as he believed every scene was essential and having cut any unnecessary scenes before they were filmed. Nolan and Jonathan had struggled to refine the script to reduce the film's running time but found that they removed too much content and had to expand it to make things comprehensible.

Special effects and design

Unlike the design process on Batman Begins, which had been restrained by a need to represent Batman iconography, audience acceptance of its realistic setting gave The Dark Knight more design freedom. Chris Corbould returned from Begins as special effects supervisor. Double Negative and Framestore provided most of the film's 700 effect shots, a relatively small figure compared to equivalent films as Nolan would only use CGI as a last resort. The larger IMAX resolution also created larger-scale CGI tasks. New Deal Studios developed miniature effects for scenes including the truck chase. Stunt driver Jim Wilkey, dressed as the Joker, drove the live-action truck during the sequence, activating a large piston in the back to flip it over. Production designer Nathan Crowley designed the Batpod cycle because Nolan did not want to re-use the Tumbler, and Corbould's team built the vehicle based on a prototype developed by Crowley and Nolan combining different commercial model components. The unwieldy, wide-tired vehicle could only be ridden by stuntman Jean Pierre Goy after months of training. The Gotham General Hospital explosion was not in the script but added during filming because Corbould believed it could be done. Months were spent searching for a suitable building before locating the four-story former Brach's factory. Explosives expert Doug Louzeaux plotted the effect which was conducted by American Demolition. Several cameras captured the scene, but only footage from one was used as Nolan preferred the single long take.

Hemming, Crowley, Nolan, and Jamie Rama re-designed the Batsuit to make it more comfortable and flexible, particularly the head and neck area, developing a costume made from a stretchy material covered in over 100 urethane armor pieces. Sculptor Julian Murray developed the Two-Face facial design based on Nolan's desire for a skeletal appearance, going through various designs that were "too real and more horrifying" before settling on one more "fanciful" and detailed without being as repulsive. Hemming designed the Joker's overall appearance based on fashion and music celebrities to create something modern and trendy, as well as the 1953 painting Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X by Francis Bacon (suggested by Nolan), and the character's comic book appearances. The outfit consisted of a purple coat and green vest, with an antique shirt, and a thin 1960s-style tie suggested by Ledger. Prosthetics supervisor Conor O'Sullivan created the Joker's scars, partially based on a scarred delivery man he met, and used his own technique to create and apply the supple, skin-like prosthetics. John Caglione Jr designed the character's "organic" makeup to look like it had been worn for days, partially based on more Bacon works suggested by Nolan. Caglione Jr used a theater makeup technique in the application, instructing Ledger to scrunch up his face so that after the makeup was applied and he relaxed, it created cracks and different textures. Ledger always applied the lipstick himself as he believed it was essential to his characterization.

Music

Begins composers, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer, scored The Dark Knight because Nolan believed it was important to bridge the musical narrative between the films. Recorded at Air Studios, London, they wrote the score without seeing the film because Nolan wanted them to be influenced by the characters and story instead of fitting specific on-screen elements. Howard and Zimmer separated their duties by character, with Howard focusing on Dent and Zimmer on Batman and the Joker. Zimmer did not consider Batman to be strictly noble and wrote the theme to not seem "super". Howard wrote about ten minutes for Dent, wanting to convey him as an all-American who represents hope but undergoes an emotional extreme and moral corruption. He employed brass instruments for both moral ends but warped the sound as Dent became more corrupted.

Zimmer wanted to use a single note for the Joker's theme, saying "imagine one note that starts off slightly agitated and then goes to serious aggravation and finally rips your head off at the end." However, he could not make it work and used two notes with alternating tempos and a "punk" influence. The theme was influenced by electronic music innovators, Kraftwerk, and Zimmer's work with rock band, The Damned. He wanted to convey elements of corrosion, recklessness, and "otherworldliness" of the Joker by combining electronic and orchestral music and modifying almost every note after recording to emulate various sounds including thunder and razors. He attempted to develop original sounds with Synthesizers, tried to create an "offputting" result by instructing musicians to start with a single note and gradually shift to the second over a three minute period, which they struggled with because it was the opposite of their training. It took several months to achieve Zimmer's desired result. He considered discarding the theme entirely for a more traditional score following Ledger's death, but he and Howard believed they should honor Ledger's performance. The complete theme runs for nine minutes and contains ten thousand musical bars.

Release

Marketing and anti-piracy

Alternate reality game (ARG) development company, 42 Entertainment, developed The Dark Knight's marketing campaign. Nolan wanted the campaign to include online and real-world experiences with a focus on countering the negative reaction to Ledger's casting and controlling the public release of the first Joker image before any set photos leaked. Influenced by the script as well as The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989), 42 Entertainment opted to pace the ARG over specific annual occasions, although their ideas to use Jokerized Santas at Christmas, coffins filled with chattering teeth on Mother's Day (mocking Wayne's late mother), and Batman actors on rooftops were rejected by Warner Bros due to safety concerns.

The ARG began in May 2007, with Dent district attorney campaign posters, and Joker playing cards secreted inside comic books at stores around the U.S. bearing the phrase "I believe in Harvey Dent," which led people to a website where they could submit their e-mail address to reveal a pixel of a concealed Joker image. It took about 97,000 e-mail addresses and 20 hours to unveil the full picture, which was well-received. At the San Diego Comic-Con, 42 Entertainment modified eleven-thousand $1 bills with the Joker's image and the phrase "Why So Serious?" that led finders to a specific location. 42 Entertainment's initial plan to throw the bills from a balcony was canceled due to safety concerns so the bills were covertly distributed to attendees. The company expected a few thousand people to go to the location but received 650,000 guests who participated in activities including calling a number taken from a plane flying overhead, and donning Joker makeup to commit disruptive acts with actors. Fans from around the world also participated in a task of photographing letters from signs to form a ransom note. A U.S.-centric effort involved people recovering Nokia phones (a brand partner to the film) from a cake, which led t0 a pre-release screening of the prologue bank heist that would be widely released in December. Ledger's appearance in the prologue was well-received and changed the discourse around his casting.

Following Ledger's death, the campaign continued unchanged as it switched focus to Dent's election, influenced by the ongoing 2008 United States presidential election. Warner Bros. was concerned that public knowledge of Dent's character was low, and the campaign included signs, stickers, and "Dentmobiles" visiting U.S. cities to raise his profile. The campaign concluded in July with displays of the Bat-Signal in Chicago and New York City that were eventually defaced by the Joker. Industry professionals considered the campaign innovative and very successful.

Warner Bros. dedicated six months to anti-piracy methods because pre-release leaks could damage their financial returns, with an estimated $6.1 billion lost to piracy by the film industry in 2005. Delivery methods of film reels were randomized to make them unpredictable and copies had a chain of custody to track who had access, as well as theater staff wearing night-vision goggles to look for people recording The Dark Knight, with one person being caught in Kansas City. Warner Bros. considered their strategy a success, delaying the first, "poorly-lit" camcorder version until 38–48 hours after its earliest global release in Australia.

Context

Compared to the previous year's $9.7 billion box office, 2008 was expected to underperform due to a high number of comedies competing against each other and films with dark tones, such as The Dark Knight, releasing during a period of rising living costs and election fatigue in the U.S. There were also fewer sequels being released, which generally performed well, with only four predicted blockbuster sequels scheduled: The Dark Knight, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and the only sequel expected to easily pass a $300 million gross, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Based on high audience anticipation and positive pre-release reviews, as well as a record $3.5 million in IMAX presales, The Dark Knight was predicted to exceed Iron Man's $102.1 million opening weekend gross but end below the record $151.1 million of Spider-Man 3 (2007). The long-running time was expected to work against it, limited its screenings per day, as well as counterprogramming from romantic comedy Mamma Mia!, which surveyed well with females, and family comedy Space Chimps, as well as a perceived limit on box office returns for Batman films, the 1989 version remaining the highest-grossing release.

The Dark Knight's premiere took place on July 14, in New York City at an IMAX theater. The event closed down a block of the Broadway area and featured a live performance of the film's score by Howard and Zimmer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ledger's performance received several ovations, and Warner Bros. executives struggled to maintain a balance during the afterparty between celebrating the successful response and commemorating the actor.

Box office

The Dark Knight received a wide release in the United States (U.S.) and Canada on July 18, in a record 4,366 theaters across an estimated 9,200 screens. It earned $158.4 million during the weekend, an average of $36,282 per theater, breaking Spider-Man 3's opening weekend record, and making it the number 1 film ahead of the debuting Mamma Mia ($27.8 million) and Hancock ($14 million) in its third weekend. It set further records for the highest-grossing single-day ($67.2 million on the Friday), Sunday ($43.6 million), midnight opening ($18.5 million, from 3,000 midnight screenings), and IMAX opening ($6.3 million from about 94 locations), as well as the second-highest-grossing Saturday ($47.7 million), behind Spider-Man 3, and overall contributing to the highest-grossing weekend on record ($253.6 million). The film benefitted from repeat viewing by younger audiences, and had a broad appeal, with 52% of the audience skewing male and an even split of those under and over 25 years old.

During the following week it broke further records for the highest-grossing opening week ($238.6 million) and 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, and 10-day cumulative grosses, including the highest-grossing non-holiday Monday ($24.5 million) and non-opening Tuesday ($20.9 million, as well as the second highest-grossing non-opening Wednesday ($18.4 million), behind Transformers ($29.1 million). It retained the number 1 position in its second weekend with a total gross of $75.2 million, ahead of the debuting Step Brothers ($31 million), giving it the highest-grossing second weekend ever and a cumulative gross of $313.8 million. By its eighteenth day of release, The Dark Knight became the fastest film to surpass $400 million, and it retained the number 1 position in its third ($42.7 million) and fourth ($26.1 million) weekends, before falling to second place in its fifth with a gross of $16.4 million. The Dark Knight remained in the top-ten highest-grossing films for a total ten weeks, and became the fastest film to earn $500 million (45 days). The film was playing in less than 100 theaters when it received a 300 theater relaunch in late January 2009, to raise its profile during nominations for the 81st Academy Awards. This raised its total box office to $533.3 million before it left theaters on March 5, after 33 weeks. This made it the highest-grossing comic book, superhero, and Batman film, 2008s highest-grossing film, and the second highest-grossing film ever (unadjusted for inflation), behind the 1997 romantic drama, Titanic ($600.8 million).

Outside of the U.S. and Canada, The Dark Knight was released on Wednesday, July 16, 2008, in Australia and Taiwan. It opened in a total 20 markets by the weekend, earning about $40 million combined, behind Hancock ($44.8 million), which was playing in nearly four times as many countries, and making it the highest-grossing opening for a superhero film in Australia. The film was available in sixty-two countries by the end of August, although Warner Bros. declined a Chinese release, blaming "a number of pre-release conditions ... as well as cultural sensitivities to some elements of the film." The Dark Knight earned about $469.7 million outside of the U.S. and Canada, its highest grosses coming from the United Kingdom ($89.1 million), Australia ($39.9 million), Germany ($29.7 million), France ($27.5 million), Mexico ($25 million), South Korea ($24.7 million), and Brazil ($20.2 million), as well as making it the second-highest-grossing film, behind Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Worldwide, the film earned $1.003 billion, making it the first superhero film to gross over $1 billion, the highest-grossing film of the year, the fourth film to earn more than $1 billion, and the fourth-highest-grossing film of its time, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.066 billion), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.119 billion), and Titanic ($1.842 billion). Subsequent re-releases have further raised its box office total to $1.006 billion.

Reception

Critical response

The Dark Knight received critical acclaim on release. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 94% approval rating from the aggregated reviews of 347 critics, with an average score of 8.6/10. The consensus reads, "Dark, complex and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga." The film has a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Several publications called The Dark Knight the best comic book hero adaptation ever made, with Roger Ebert saying that, alongside Iron Man, it had redefined the potential for superhero films, in part by combining comic book tropes with real world events. Although some appreciated its portrayal of a complex moral tale about the effects of vigilantism and terrorism on contemporary society, others took issue with the dark, grim, intense, and self-serious tone that removed from it any elements of fun or fantasy. David Denby concluded The Dark Knight was the product of a "time of terror," but focused on embracing and unleashing it while cynically setting up the next instalment. Zacharek and David Edelstein criticized a perceived lack of visual storytelling, with exposition used to explain events not shown on screen, as well as other aspects of the plot being difficult to follow amid the fast pace and loud score. Nolan's action direction was criticized, especially during fast-paced fight scenes where it was difficult to see what is occurring, although the opening bank heist setpiece was roundly praised as among the film's best.

Ledger's performance received near-unanimous praise from reviewers, who acknowledged the actor's unexpected death had made the role both highly-anticipated and difficult to watch. The New York Times's Manohla Dargis, among others, described Ledger as realizing the character so convincingly, intensely, and viscerally that it draws the audience in, making them forget about the actor behind the makeup, with The Village Voice writing that the performance would have made the actor a legend even if he had lived. Other reviews contrasted him favorably with previous well-received Joker actor, Jack Nicholson, describing his macabre humor and malevolence as outshining Nicholson's "magnificent" performance. Reviews generally agreed the Joker was The Dark Knight's best written character, through which Ledger commanded scenes from the entire cast, even "charisma blaster" Eric Roberts, to create one of the most "mesmerizing" cinematic villains ever. Critics considered the memorable performance to be simultaneously scary and unsettling, while being mesmerizing, artful, and forceful, without ever becoming too much. Even so, Salon.com's Stephanie Zacharek lamented that his performance was not in service to a better film.

Reception to Bale was more mixed, with some reviews considering his performance "captivating" or serviceable, but ultimately uninteresting and undermined in portraying an immovable character, mostly unchanged since Batman Begins, who delivers dialogue as Batman in a hoarse, unvarying tone. Eckhart's performance was generally well-received by reviewers who appreciated his portrayal of the charismatic Dent and his transformation into a sad, bitter "monster," although Variety considered the character's subplot to be the film's weakest point. Stephen Hunter believed the character was underwritten and Eckhart incapable of portraying the role as intended. Gyllenhaal was seen by several reviewers as an improvement over Holmes, although others believed it was still difficult to care about the character, and that the actress, while more talented than her predecessor, was miscast. Peter Travers praised Oldman's skill in making a virtuous character interesting, and he, among others described Caine's and Freeman's performances were described as effortless. Eberrt surmised that the entire cast provided "powerful" performances that engaged the audience, such that "we're surprised how deeply the drama affects us.

Accolades and awards

The Dark Knight appeared on several lists recognizing the best films of 2008, includes those compiled by Ebert, The Hollywood Reporter, and the American Film Institute, as well as being the year's most pirated film with about 7 million illegal downloads. At the 13th Satellite Awards, The Dark Knight received one award for Sound Editing or Mixing (Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo). A further four wins came at the 35th People's Choice Awards: Favorite Movie, Favorite Cast, Favorite Action Movie, and Favorite On-Screen Match-Up (Bale and Ledger), as well as Best Action Movie and Best Supporting Actor (Ledger) at the 14th Critics' Choice Awards. Howard and Zimmer were recognized for Best Motion Picture Score at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Ledger won the film's only awards at the 15th Screen Actors Guild Awards, 62nd British Academy Film Awards, and 66th Golden Globe Awards, for Best Supporting Actor. At the 14th Empire Awards, The Dark Knight received awards for Best Film, Best Director (Nolan), and Best Actor (Bale). Ledger received the award for Best Villain at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, and at the 35th Saturn Awards, The Dark Knight won awards for Best Action or Adventure Film, Best Supporting Actor (Ledger), Best Writing (Christopher and Jonathan Nolan), Best Music (Howard and Zimmer), and Best Special Effects (Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul J. Franklin, Timothy Webber).

Even before The Dark Knight's release, film industry discourse focused on Ledger potentially earning an Academy Award nomination at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009, making him only the seventh person to be nominated posthumously, and if the decision would be influenced by his passing or performance. Genre films such as those based on comic books were also generally ignored by Academy voters. Even so, Ledger was considered a favorite to earn the award based on praise from critic groups and his posthumous Golden Globe award. Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him only the second performer to win an award posthumously, and The Dark Knight the first comic book adaptation to win a major Academy award. The Dark Knight also won an award for Best Sound Editing (King), and received six nominations for Best Sound Mixing (Hirschberg, Rizzo, and Ed Novick), Best Visual Effects (Davis, Corbould, Webber, and Franklin), Best Makeup (Caglione, Jr. and O'Sullivan), Best Film Editing (Smith), Best Cinematography (Pfister), and Academy Award for Best Production Design (Crowley and Peter Lando).

Despite the success of The Dark Knight, the lack of a Best Picture nomination was criticized and described as a "snub" by some publications. The response was seen as the culmination of several years of criticism toward the Academy ignoring high-performing, broadly popular films. The backlash was such that, for the 82nd Academy Awards awards in 2010, the Academy increased the limit for Best Picture nominees from five to ten, allowing for more broadly popular but "respected" films to be nominated, including District 9, The Blind Side, Avatar, and Up, the first animated film to be nominated in two decades. This change is seen as responsible for the first Best Picture nomination of a comic book adaptation, Black Panther (2018). Even so, The Hollwood Reporter argued the Academy mistook the appeals to recognize important, "generation defining" genre films with just nominating more films.

Post-release

Home media

The Dark Knight was released on DVD and Blu-ray disk in December 2008. The release came with a Batman-themed slipcover, revealing a "Jokerized" version of the same underneath, and contained featurettes on Batman's equipment, the psychology used in the film, six episodes of the Gotham Tonight news program, and a gallery of concept art, posters, and Joker cards. The Blu-ray disc version additionally offered interactive elements during the film about how a particular scene was filmed. A separate limited edition Blu-ray disc set came with a Batpod figurine. The Dark Knight sold 3 million copies across both formats on its launch day across the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom, with Blu-ray discs accounting for about 25%–30% or 600,000 units. Released during the advent of the Blu-ray disc format, it was considered a success, breaking Iron Man's record of 250,000 units sold and indicating the format was growing in popularity.

In 2011, it also became the first major studio film released for rent via digital distribution on Facebook. A 4K resolution remaster, overseen by Nolan, was released in December 2017, as a set containing a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray disc, and digital download, as well as special features from previous releases.

Other media

Merchandise for The Dark Knight was produced by Mattel and included items such as statuettes, action figures, radio-controlled Tumbler and Batpod models, costumes, sets of Batarangs, a limited-edition Grappling Launcher replica, board games, puzzles, clothing, and a special-edition UNO card game. The Dark Knight Coaster, an indoor dark roller coaster, opened in May 2008, at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Costing $7.5 million, the 1,213 ft (370 m) long attraction places riders in an imitation of Wayne Central Station in Gotham City as they move through areas vandalized or controlled by the Joker.

A direct-to-DVD animated film, Batman: Gotham Knight, was released in July 2008. Directed by Bruce Timm, and with veteran Batman actor Kevin Conroy voicing the titular hero, Gotham Knight presents six vignettes, each animated in a different artistic style, that take place between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. A planned tie-in video game, Batman: The Dark Knight, was cancelled due to various development issues.

Themes and analysis

Terrorism and escalation

A central theme of The Dark Knight is escalation, particularly the rise of the Joker in response to Batman's vigilantism. The film has been analyzed as an analog for the war on terror, the ongoing militaristic campaign launched by the United States following the September 11 attacks. Critic Siddhant Adlakha highlighted a scene depicting Batman standing amid the rubble of a devastated building, having failed to prevent the Joker's plot, as reminiscent of the World Trade Center site after September 11. According to historian Stephen Prince, The Dark Knight is about the consequences of civil and government authorities abandoning rules in the fight against terrorism.

Several publications criticized The Dark Knight for a perceived endorsement of "necessary evils" such as torture or rendition. Author Andrew Klavan believed Batman was a stand-in for U.S. President George W. Bush and justified the breaching of "boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past." His interpretation was criticized by various publications who considered The Dark Knight be to anti-war and proposing that society not abandon the rule of law to combat lawlessness, or risk creating the conditions for escalation. This is exemplified in the covert alliance formed between Batman, Dent, and Gordon, leading to Rachel's death and Dent's corruption. Writer Benjamin Kerstein argued that both viewpoints were valid, and that "The Dark Knight is a perfect mirror of the society which is watching it: a society so divided on the issues of terror and how to fight it that, for the first time in decades, an American mainstream no longer exists."

Batman and Dent eventually resort to torture, or enhanced interrogation, to stop the Joker's plans. Batman's physical torture of the Joker is ineffectual because the Joker has the utmost belief in his goals, and Dent's attempts to torture one of his henchmen also fails. However, Batman does not condemn Dent's actions, and is only concerned about the public perception if people discovered the truth. This conveys the gradual abandonment of their principles when faced with such an extreme foe. The Joker meets Dent in a hospital to explain how atrocities and societal failings are regularly tolerated such as several soldiers dying, but when norms are unexpectedly disrupted, people panic and things descend into chaos.

Batman operates as a vigilante armed with high-tech military equipment against common criminals, and the Joker is the inevitable response and escalation of lawlessness to counter Batman. Adlakha considered the Joker to be an analog for countries such as Iraq, Somalia, and Lebanon, that were targeted by U.S. military campaigns and escalated by using terrorism in response.

Although the character wears war paint he is not hiding behind a mask, the Joker is who he is with or without makeup. He lacks any identity or origin, representing the uncertainty, unknowability, and fear of terrorism, although he does not follow any particular political ideology. Dent represents the fulfillment of American idealism, someone noble who can work within the confines of the law and allow Batman to retire. Even so, the fear and chaos that the Joker embodies, taints that idealism and corrupts Dent absolutely.

Batman also inspires copycat vigilantes, further increasing lawlessness. Film studies professor Todd McGowan identified that Batman asserts authority over these copycats, telling them to stop because they do not have the same defensive equipment as himself, reaffirming his self-given authority to act as a vigilante. The Dark Knight's final act involves Batman employing an invasive surveillance network by co-opting the phones of Gotham's citizens to locate the Joker, simultaneously violating their privacy. Adlakha described it as a "militaristic fantasy", in which a significant violation of civil liberties is required through the means of advanced technology to capture a dangerous terrorist, reminiscent of the 2001 Patriot Act. Batman's ally, Lucius Fox, threatens to resign in response, believing that Batman has crossed a boundary, although Batman ultimately destroys the technology, agreeing its capabilities are unacceptable. Even so, Batman would have been unable to find and stop the Joker in time without it.

Morality and ethics

The Dark Knight also focuses on the moral and ethical battles faced by the central characters and the compromises they make to defeat the Joker under extraordinary circumstances. Roger Ebert said that the Joker forces impossible ethical decisions on each character to test the limits of their morality. Batman represents an order to Joker's chaos and is brought to his own limit, but avoids completely compromising himself. Dent represents the force of good and hope, the city's "white knight" who is "pure" of intent and can operate within the law. He is motivated to do good, not through trauma like Batman, but because he identifies himself as good and has utmost faith in the legal system. Adlakha wrote that Dent is framed as a religious icon, his campaign slogan being "I believe in Harvey Dent," and his eventual death leaving his arms spread wide like Jesus on the cross. Eckhart described Dent as someone who loves the law but feels constrained by it and his inability to do what he believes is right because it is not allowed by the rules he must follow. Dent's desire to work outside of the law is seen in his support of Batman's vigilantism to accomplish what he cannot.

Writer David Chen wrote that Dent's corruption suggests he is a proxy for those looking for hope because he is as fallible and susceptible to darkness as anyone else. This can be seen in his use of a two-headed coin to make decisions involving others, eliminating the risk of chance by controlling the outcome in his favor, suggesting that losing is not an acceptable outcome for him. Once Dent experiences a significant traumatic experience in losing Rachel and being disfigured, he quickly abandons his noble former self to seek his own form of justice. His coin is scarred on one side, finally introducing the risk of chance and he submits himself to it completely. English professor, Daniel Boscaljon, argues that Dent is not broken, he just believes in a different form of justice in a seemingly unjust world, flipping a coin because it is "Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair."

Although referred to as a terrorist, the Joker represents an ideological deviancy, acting to cause chaos for its own sake. He sets a pile of cash on fire to demonstrate that "everything burns". and he does not seek personal gain. Unlike Batman, the Joker is the same with or without makeup, having no identity to conceal and nothing to lose, with no desire for personal gain. Boscaljon suggests that the citizens and criminals believe in a form of order and rules that must be obeyed and the Joker deliberately upends this belief as he has no rules or limitations. The character can be considered an example of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Superman," who exists outside definitions such as good and evil and follows his own indomitable will. However, the film suggests that embracing his chaos leads to tragedy and injustice, allowing the audience to dismiss his insights. Nolan described the Joker as a form of unadulterated evil, and professor Charles Bellinger considered him a satanic figure, who pushes people away from goodness and tempts them with things they supposedly lack, such as forcing Batman to choose between saving Dent, who is best for the city, and Rachel, who is best for Wayne. The Joker aims to corrupt Dent to prove that anyone, even symbols, can be broken, and in their desperation, both Dent and Batman are forced to question their own limitations. As the Joker states to Batman:

Their morals, their code... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. You'll see—I'll show you... when the chips are down, these civilized people... they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster... I'm just ahead of the curve.

— The Joker, in The Dark Knight

Although Batman holds to his morals and does not kill the Joker, he is still forced to break his code by pushing Dent to his death to save an innocent. He then chooses to take the blame for Dent's crimes to preserve him as a symbol of good to maintain the hope of Gotham's citizens. In turn Batman becomes a symbol of criminality. Critic David Crow wrote that Batman's true test is not defeating the Joker but saving Dent, a task he ultimately fails. Contrasting Chen's interpretation of Dent, Boscajon suggests that Batman makes his own Christ-like sacrifice, taking on Dent's sins to preserve the city. Adlakha argued that the ferry scene represents the Joker's true defeat, as his theory that the citizens will abandon their morals and kill each other when put in an extreme scenario is proven wrong. Chen wrote this demonstrates that humans cannot handle power responsibly as an individual, but by sharing the responsibility there is hope for a compassionate outcome. Among the final scenes is one of Wayne's butler, Alfred, destroying a note from Rachel that reveals she chose to be with Dent, a further ethical boundary crossed as Alfred manipulates the truth to spare Wayne the pain of her rejection and preserve the remnants of his hope. Professor Martin Fradley, among others, argued that Gordon's "noble lie" in allowing Dent to remain a hero is a cynical endorsement of deception and totalitarianism, although the film presents this as a heroic act by Batman. McGowan suggests that Batman's act is heroic, because it is a sacrifice that will leave him without recognition but instead hunted and despised. This suggests he has learned from the Joker that the established norms must sometimes be broken.

Legacy

Cultural influence

The Dark Knight is considered a highly influential and often imitated work that re-defined the superhero/comic book film genre, and filmmaking in general. In 2020, the United States Library of Congress selected The Dark Knight to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Before The Dark Knight, superhero films closely emulated their comic book source material, and though the genre had seen significant successes such as Superman (1978), Batman (1989), X-Men (2000), and Spider-Man (2002), they were often considered disposable entertainment that did not garner much respect from industry award bodies. By building on Begins heightened realism and presenting a mature tone with contemporary themes and complex characters, The Dark Knight established that the genre could produce films with a distinct vision, artistic merit, and social commentary, making it a benchmark for future films. A retrospective by The Hollywood Reporter wrote The Dark Knight taught filmmakers that "comic book characters are malleable. They are able to be grounded or fantastic, able to be prestigious or pure blockbuster entertainment, to be dark and gritty or light, to be character-driven or action-packed, or any variation in-between."

The Dark Knight is considered a blueprint for the modern superhero film, that projects either attempt to closely emulate or deliberately counter. Its financial, critical, and cultural successes legitimized the genre with film studios, at a time when recent entries, such as Daredevil, Hulk (both 2003), Fantastic Four (2005), and Superman Returns (2006) had failed to meet expectations. The genre became a focus of annual studio strategies instead of a relatively niche project, and a surge of comic book adaptations followed, in part because of their broad franchising potential. In 2008, Ebert wrote that ", and to a lesser degree Iron Man, redefine the possibilities of the 'comic-book movie.'” A decade later, The Atlantic argued that Iron Man's legacy in launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could not have happened without The Dark Knight, but that such a Batman film could no longer be made without being part of its own cinematic universe.

Retrospective analysis has focused on how studios, eager to replicate its success, released tonally dark, gritty, and realistic films or reboots of existing franchises such as Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Man of Steel, Star Trek Into Darkness (both 2013), RoboCop (both 2014), Fantastic Four (2015), and Power Rangers (2017), many of which failed critically or commercially. Some publications argued that studios took the wrong lessons from The Dark Knight, by treating source material too seriously and mistaking a dark and gritty tone for narrative depth and intelligent writing. In contrast, the MCU is seen as a successful continuation of what made The Dark Knight a success, combining genres and tones relevant to each respective film while treating the source material seriously, unlike the DC Extended Universe, which emulated the tone of The Dark Knight more closely but failed to replicate its success.

Directors including Sam Mendes (Skyfall), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), and David Ayer (Suicide Squad), as well as the creators of the TV show Arrow, have cited it as an influence on their work. The film has been referenced in a variety of media including television shows such as Robot Chicken, South Park, and The Simpsons. U.S. President Barack Obama used the Joker to explain the growth of Islamic State (IS) military group, saying " ... the gang leaders of Gotham are meeting ... they were thugs, but there was a kind of order ... the Joker comes in and lights the whole city on fire. is the Joker." The character's appearance became a popular Halloween costume, and also influenced the 2009 Barack Obama "Joker" poster.

Lasting reception

Since its release, The Dark Knight has been assessed as one of, if not the greatest superhero films ever made, among the greatest films ever made, and one of the best sequel films. It is also considered among the best films of the 2000s, and in a 2010 poll of thirty-seven critics by Metacritic regarding the decade's top films, The Dark Knight received the eighth most mentions, appearing on 7 lists. In the 2010s, a poll of 177 film critics by the BBC in 2016 listed it thirty-third-best film of the 21st century, and The Guardian placed it ninety-eighth on its own list. In 2020, Empire magazine named it third-best, behind The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). It remains the highest critically rated Batman film according to Rotten Tomatoes, and is often ranked as the best film featuring the character.

It has remained popular with entertainment industry professionals, including directors, actors, critics, and stunt actors, being ranked fifty-seventh on the The Hollywood Reporter's poll of the best films ever made, eightieth on Time Out's list of the best action films, and ninety-sixth on the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest American Films. The Dark Knight is also included in the film reference book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and film critics James Berardinelli and Barry Norman included The Dark Knight on their individual listings of the 100 greatest films of all time. In 2012, Total Film named it the sixth most accomplished film of the preceding fifteen years, and a 2020 article by Empire named The Dark Knight as one of the films that defined the previous three decades. In 2020, Time Out named it the seventy-second best action movies ever made.

Ledger's Joker is considered one of the greatest cinematic villains, with several publications placing him second only to Darth Vader, The Hollywood Reporter named him the second best cinematic superhero performance ever, behind Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and Collider naming him the greatest villain of the 21st century. In 2018, Entertainment Weekly wrote that there had not been another villain as interesting or "perversely entertaining" as the Joker, and Ledger's performance was considered so defining that future interpretations would be compared against it. Michael B. Jordan has cited the character as an inspiration for his character Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. The "pencil trick" scene, in which the Joker seemingly makes a pencil stuck in a table disappear by slamming a mobster's head on it, is also considered an iconic scene, and among the film's most famous. Similarly, the character's dialogue, "why so serious?" is among the film's most famous and oft-quoted pieces of dialogue, alongside "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" (spoken by Dent), and "some men just want to watch the world burn," (spoken by Pennyworth), that were also used as part of popular memes.

The Dark Knight has remained popular with audiences in publicly voted rankings. Over 17,000 people voted the film into the top ten of American Cinematographer's "Best-Shot Film of 1998–2008" list, and listeners of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra named it their eighth favorite film. Readers of Empire have alternatively voted it the fifteenth (2008), third (2014), and the fourth greatest film ever made (2020). The Dark Knight was also voted the greatest superhero movie by readers of Rolling Stone (2014), and one of New Zealand's favorite films (2015).

Sequel

The Dark Knight was followed by The Dark Knight Rises (2012), the concluding chapter of The Dark Knight Trilogy. In the film's plot, Batman is forced out of his self-imposed retirement following the events of The Dark Knight and joins forced with Selina Kyle / Catwoman to take on Bane, a physically imposing revolutionary allied with the League of Shadows featured in Batman Begins. The film was a financial success, surpassing the box office of The Dark Knight, and was generally well-received by critics, but proved more divisive with audiences.

References

Notes

1. Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures serve as co-financiers and co-production companies for The Dark Knight, while Syncopy is credited as the production company.
2. The Dark Knight is considered a co-production of the United States and United Kingdom.
3. This figure represents the cumulative total accounting for the initial worldwide 2008 gross of $1.001 billion and subsequent releases thereafter.
4. Attributed to multiple references:
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18. The 2008 budget of $185 million is equivalent to $262 million in 2023.
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32. The 2008 box office gross of $1.003 billion is equivalent to $1.42 billion in 2023.
33. Attributed to multiple references:
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Works cited

• Boscaljon, Daniel (2013). "The Flip Side Of Justice: The Two-faced Spirit Of The Dark Knight". Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies (14). Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa: 44–64. ProQuest 1470421526.
• Duncan Jesser, Jody; Pourroy, Janine (2012). The Art And Making Of The Dark Knight Trilogy. New York City, New York: Abrams Books. ISBN 978-1-4197-0369-0.
• Schneider, Steven Jay (2013). "1990s". 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Boston, Massachusetts: Murdoch Books Pty Limited. ISBN 978-0-7641-6613-6.
• Fradley, Martin (2013). "What Do You Believe In? Film Scholarship And The Cultural Politics of the Dark Knight Franchise". Film Quarterly. 66 (3). Berkeley, California: University of California Press: 15–27. doi:10.1525/fq.2013.66.3.15. JSTOR 10.1525/fq.2013.66.3.15.

Further reading

• Byrne, Craig (2008). The Dark Knight: Featuring Production Art and Full Shooting Script (Hardcover). Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-1812-1.
• Nolan, Christopher; Goyer, David S. (2007). "Introduction". Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween (Hardcover). New York: DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-1282-7.
• O'Neil, Dennis (2008). The Dark Knight (Paperback). Novelization of the film. Berkley. ISBN 978-0-425-22286-7.

External links

• Official website (Warner Bros.)
• Official website (DC Comics)
• The Dark Knight at IMDb
• The Dark Knight title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• The Dark Knight at the TCM Movie Database
• Template:AllMovie title

• 2000s
• Film
• United States
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• Definitions from Wiktionary
• Media from Commons
• News from Wikinews
• Quotations from Wikiquote
• Data from Wikidata

The Dark Knight

v t e The Dark Knight trilogy Films Batman Begins (2005) The Dark Knight (2008) special effects accolades The Dark Knight Rises (2012) accolades shooting Characters Bruce Wayne Joker Rachel Dawes Music Batman Begins (2005) The Dark Knight (2008) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Video games Batman Begins (2005) The Dark Knight (unreleased) Related Gotham Knight (2008) BatfXXX: Dark Night Parody (2010) v t e Batman franchise media Live-action television Batman episodes Batman OnStar commercials Birds of Prey Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt Gotham episodes season 1 2 3 4 5 characters Pennyworth Batwoman Gotham Knights The Penguin "After Hours" "Inside Man" "Bliss" "Cent'Anni" "Homecoming" "Gold Summit" "Top Hat" "A Great or Little Thing" Live-action films Serials Batman (1943) Batman and Robin Batman (1966) 1989–1997 film series Batman (1989) Batman Returns Batman Forever Batman & Robin The Dark Knight Trilogy Batman Begins The Dark Knight The Dark Knight Rises DC Extended Universe Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Batgirl (unreleased) The Batman Animated television The Batman/Superman Hour The Adventures of Batman The New Adventures of Batman The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour The Animated Series episodes The New Batman Adventures Batman Beyond episodes The Batman episodes The Brave and the Bold episodes Beware the Batman Batwheels Caped Crusader Animated films Mask of the Phantasm SubZero Return of the Joker Mystery of the Batwoman The Batman vs. Dracula Gotham Knight Public Enemies Under the Red Hood Apocalypse Year One The Dark Knight Returns DC Super Heroes Unite Son of Batman Assault on Arkham Animal Instincts Batman vs. Robin Monster Mayhem Bad Blood The Killing Joke Mechs vs. Mutants Return of the Caped Crusaders The Lego Batman Movie Batman and Harley Quinn Batman vs. Two-Face Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold Gotham by Gaslight Batman Ninja Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Hush Family Matters Soul of the Dragon The Long Halloween Battle of the Super Sons The Doom That Came to Gotham Merry Little Batman Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League Animated shorts Chase Me Strange Days Death in the Family Novels The Ultimate Evil Enemies & Allies Wayne of Gotham Batman: Resurrection Podcasts Batman: The Audio Adventures Batman Unburied Enemies in other media Bane Joker Mr. Freeze Penguin Riddler Scarecrow Two-Face Supporting characters in other media Barbara Gordon Catwoman Robin Related topics Batman & Bill Bruce Wayne (unproduced series) Batkid Begins Batman action figures Lego Batman Batman Total Justice Batman Unlimited Bat phone Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan List of Batman films cast members List of Batman television series cast members List of Batman video games List of Batman children's books Batman music Batman Live Holy Musical B@man! Batman '89 (comic book) The Riddler: Year One v t e Batman in film Serials Batman (1943 serial) Batman and Robin (1949 serial) Adam West films Batman (1966) Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016) Batman vs. Two-Face (2017) 1989–1997 series Films Batman (1989) score soundtrack home computer game NES game Game Boy game Sega Genesis game PC Engine game arcade game Batman Returns (1992) soundtrack video game Batman Forever (1995) score soundtrack video game arcade game pinball game Batman & Robin (1997) soundtrack video game Characters Bruce Wayne Joker Catwoman The Dark Knight trilogy Films Batman Begins (2005) soundtrack video game The Dark Knight (2008) soundtrack canceled video game The Dark Knight Rises (2012) soundtrack Characters Bruce Wayne Joker Rachel Dawes DC Extended Universe Films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) soundtrack Suicide Squad Justice League Zack Snyder's Justice League The Flash Batgirl (unreleased) Characters Bruce Wayne Harley Quinn The Batman series The Batman (2022) accolades soundtrack Theatrical animated films Mask of the Phantasm (1993) The Killing Joke (2016) The Lego Batman Movie (2017) soundtrack Spin-off films Catwoman (2004) video game Joker (2019) accolades soundtrack Birds of Prey (2020) soundtrack Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) score soundtrack Batgirl (unreleased) Unofficial and fan films Features Batman Dracula Alyas Batman at Robin James Batman Batman Fights Dracula Fight Batman Fight! Alyas Batman en Robin Batman XXX Shorts Dead End Grayson World's Finest City of Scars Dying Is Easy Batman Beyond: Year One See also Batman franchise List of Batman films cast members Batman OnStar commercials v t e Live-action films based on DC Comics Serials Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941) Spy Smasher (1942) Batman (1943) Hop Harrigan (1946) The Vigilante (1947) Superman (1948) Congo Bill (1948) Batman and Robin (1949) Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) Blackhawk (1952) Single films Supergirl (1984) Steel (1997) Catwoman (2004) Constantine (2005) Watchmen (2009) Jonah Hex (2010) Green Lantern (2011) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Justice League (2017) production Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) Birds of Prey (2020) Batgirl (produced 2021–2022; unreleased) Black Adam (2022) The Flash (2023) Blue Beetle (2023) Franchises Aquaman Aquaman (2018) The Lost Kingdom (2023) Batman Batman (1966) Batman (1989) Batman Returns (1992) Batman Forever (1995) Batman & Robin (1997) Batman Begins (2005) The Dark Knight (2008) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) The Batman (2022) Joker Joker (2019) Folie à Deux (2024) Shazam Shazam! (2019) Fury of the Gods (2023) Suicide Squad Suicide Squad (2016) The Suicide Squad (2021) Superman Superman and the Mole Men (1951) Stamp Day for Superman (1954) Superman (1978) Superman II (1980) The Richard Donner Cut (2006) Superman III (1983) The Quest for Peace (1987) Superman Returns (2006) Man of Steel (2013) Superman (2025) Swamp Thing Swamp Thing (1982) The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) Wonder Woman Wonder Woman (2017) Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) DC Imprints Single films Road to Perdition (2002) The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) A History of Violence (2005) V for Vendetta (2006) Stardust (2007) The Spirit (2008) The Losers (2010) The Kitchen (2019) Red Red (2010) Red 2 (2013) See also DC Studios DC Extended Universe DC Universe List of unproduced DC Comics projects DC Imprints v t e Christopher Nolan Filmography Accolades Cinematic style Films directed Features Following (1998) Memento (2000) Insomnia (2002) Batman Begins (2005) The Prestige (2006) The Dark Knight (2008) Inception (2010) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Interstellar (2014) Dunkirk (2017) Tenet (2020) Oppenheimer (2023) Shorts Doodlebug (1997) Quay (2015) Film produced Man of Steel (2013, also сo-story writer) Related Barbenheimer Syncopy Inc. Emma Thomas (wife) John Nolan (uncle) Jonathan Nolan (brother) Lisa Joy (sister-in-law) Category v t e Jonathan Nolan Short-stories "Memento Mori" (2001) Films Writer The Prestige (2006) The Dark Knight (2008) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Interstellar (2014) Producer Reminiscence (2021) TV series Person of Interest (2011–2016) Westworld (2016–2022) v t e David S. Goyer Films directed Zig Zag (2002) Blade: Trinity (2004) The Invisible (2007) The Unborn (2009) Films written Death Warrant (1990) Kickboxer 2 (1991) Demonic Toys (1992) Arcade (1993) The Substitute (1993) The Puppet Masters (1994) The Crow: City of Angels (1996) Dark City (1998) Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998) Blade (1998) Blade II (2002) Batman Begins (2005) Jumper (2008) The Dark Knight (2008) Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Man of Steel (2013) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) Hellraiser (2022) Television series created Sleepwalkers (1997) FreakyLinks (2000) Blade (2006) FlashForward (2009–2010) Da Vinci's Demons (2013–2015) Constantine (2014–2015) Krypton (2018–2019) Foundation (2021–present) The Sandman (2022–present) Awards for The Dark Knight v t e Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Film Sunset Boulevard (1951) Monsieur Verdoux (1952) Forbidden Games (1953) The Wages of Fear (1954) East of Eden (1955) Gervaise (1956) La Strada (1957) The Old Man and the Sea (1958) 12 Angry Men (1959) On the Beach (1960) Two Women (1961) The Grapes of Wrath (1962) Sundays and Cybele (1963) Lilies of the Field (1964) Mary Poppins (1965) A Man and a Woman (1966) Lenny (1975) Taxi Driver (1976) Rocky (1977) Conversation Piece (1978) The Deer Hunter (1979) Kramer vs. Kramer (1980) The Tin Drum (1981) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Flashdance (1983) The Right Stuff (1984) Witness (1985) The Color Purple (1986) The Untouchables (1987) Wings of Desire (1988) Die Hard (1989) Field of Dreams (1990) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) JFK (1992) Jurassic Park (1993) Pulp Fiction (1994) The Bridges of Madison County (1995) Seven (1996) Titanic (1997) L.A. Confidential (1998) Life Is Beautiful (1999) Dancer in the Dark (2000) Joint Security Area (2001) Shaolin Soccer (2002) Infernal Affairs (2003) Mystic River (2004) Million Dollar Baby (2005) Flags of Our Fathers (2006) Dreamgirls (2007) The Dark Knight (2008) Gran Torino (2009) District 9 (2010) Black Swan (2011) Les Misérables (2012) Gravity (2013) Jersey Boys (2014) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Rogue One (2016) Hidden Figures (2017) Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) Joker (2019) Parasite (2020) No Time to Die (2021) Top Gun: Maverick (2022) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) v t e Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Action Movie The Dark Knight (2008) Avatar (2009) Inception (2010) Drive (2011) Skyfall (2012) Lone Survivor (2013) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Wonder Woman (2017) Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) Avengers: Endgame (2019) Da 5 Bloods (2020) v t e Empire Award for Best Film Braveheart (1996) Se7en (1997) Men in Black (1998) Titanic (1999) The Matrix (2000) Gladiator (2001) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2003) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2004) The Bourne Supremacy (2005) King Kong (2006) Casino Royale (2007) The Bourne Ultimatum (2008) The Dark Knight (2009) Avatar (2010) Inception (2011) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2012) Skyfall (2013) Gravity (2014) Interstellar (2015) The Revenant (2016) Rogue One (2017) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2018) v t e Mainichi Film Award for Foreign Film Best One Award Sophie's Choice (1983) The Dresser (1984) A Sunday in the Country (1985) The Purple Rose of Cairo (1986) The Trip to Bountiful (1987) Hope and Glory (1988) Cinema Paradiso (1989) A City of Sadness (1990) Dances With Wolves (1991) JFK (1992) Unforgiven (1993) Farewell My Concubine (1994) The Shawshank Redemption (1995) Ulysses' Gaze (1996) The English Patient (1997) L.A. Confidential (1998) Shakespeare in Love (1999) Space Cowboys (2000) Postmen in the Mountains (2001) Devils on the Doorstep (2002) The Pianist (2003) Mystic River (2004) Flags of Our Fathers (2006) Still Life (2007) The Dark Knight (2008) Gran Torino (2009) Breathless (2010) The King's Speech (2011) Hugo (2012) Amour (2013) Boyhood (2014) Birdman (2015) Sully (2016) I, Daniel Blake (2017) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2018) Joker (2019) Parasite (2020) Nomadland (2021) Belfast (2022) Tár (2023) v t e Saturn Award for Best Action or Adventure Film Pulp Fiction (1994) The Usual Suspects (1995) Fargo (1996) L.A. Confidential (1997) Saving Private Ryan (1998) The Green Mile (1999) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Memento (2001) Road to Perdition (2002) Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004) Sin City (2005) Casino Royale (2006) 300 (2007) The Dark Knight (2008) Inglourious Basterds (2009) Salt (2010) Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) Skyfall (2012) Fast & Furious 6 (2013) Unbroken (2014) Furious 7 (2015) Hidden Figures (2016) The Greatest Showman (2017) Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018/19) Mulan (2019/20) Top Gun: Maverick (2021/22) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2022/23) v t e Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) The Dark Knight (2008) Star Trek (2009) Inception (2010) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) Skyfall (2012) Lone Survivor (2013) Unbroken (2014) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Wonder Woman (2017) Black Panther (2018) Avengers: Endgame (2019) Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) No Time to Die (2021) Top Gun: Maverick (2022) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

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