No Joke: 'Dark Knight' Planning Oscar Rerelease

Zap2It.com | September 11, 2008

Heath Ledger in 'The Dark Knight'

January theatrical run would follow December DVD release

Not many summer comic book blockbusters get to make plans for Oscar season, but "The Dark Knight" is no ordinary comic book blockbuster.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is planning a January rerelease for "The Dark Knight," which stands as both the year's top grossing movie and one of its best reviewed.

The trade paper offered no specifics on how many screens "The Dark Knight" would be returning to or whether those screens would be both conventional and IMAX or only IMAX.

"It's just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder to people," an unnamed insider tells the trade, emphasizing the January window's importance to Oscar voters.

Indeed, with a December DVD release already in the works, it's unclear how much theatrical revenue a rerelease would provide, but the studio obviously has Oscar hopes for co-star Heath Ledger and for the film itself.

Even if "The Dark Knight" were to achieve an across-the-board Oscar bonanza, it's highly doubtful that a rerelease, however wide, would help the Christopher Nolan-directed feature reach "Titanic." To date, "The Dark Knight" has made more than $512 million, still well behind the $600 million total for James Cameron's Oscar winner.

In addition to its domestic haul, "The Dark Knight" has added some $440 million overseas, putting it within a more reachable $50 million of becoming only the fourth film to pass a billion worldwide (not factoring inflation into the mix).