Issue date: 7/24/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE

Hundreds of people stand in a line that wraps around two sides of the Rave Motion Pictures theater waiting to see the midnight screening of "The Dark Knight". Photo credit David Minton

The people at the midnight showing were not causal Batman fans. The tamest just wore Batman t-shirts, while others arrived donning Batman and Joker costumes to enhance the excitement of the evening.

People arrived to see "The Dark Knight" in everything from homemade Batman masks to professionally tailored outfits. Lines outside the Rave Theater started forming at 4 p.m.

Amanda Arrington chose not to dress up for the occasion, but arrived at the movie two hours early.

"They are very loyal fans," Arrington said. "I didn't dress up but I enjoyed seeing everyone get into it."

"The Dark Knight" opened this past weekend and has blown the top off the box office.

According to Variety.com, "The Dark Knight" made more than $158 million dollars for the opening weekend. Of that, the movie made $66.4 million in the opening night. This makes it the number one grossing movie by far.

The second highest grossing movie of the weekend was "Mamma Mia!" with $27.6 million. This also breaks the record set by "Spider-Man 3" in May of 2007, which made $151.1 million in its first weekend.

Employees at Rave Motion Pictures in Hickory Creek said there were over 400 tickets pre-sold for the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight."

Critics are praising "The Dark Knight" for many reasons, especially Heath Ledger's performance as the iconic Batman villain, the Joker.

Tim Gruber, another midnight moviegoer, said that he was not a huge Heath Ledger fan before seeing the movie, but his portrayal as the Joker is changing his mind.

"His acting in this movie was amazing," Gruber said. "Batman exceeded all of my expectations and it raised the bar for all other movies."

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