Heath Ledger's Family Still 'Nursing Broken Hearts'

by People

Heath Ledger's family gathered at an Australian beach to remember the actor, who died a year ago and is now being honored with an Oscar nomination for The Dark Knight.

"We are still all nursing broken hearts," older sister Kate Ledger said Friday in Perth. "Like anyone who loses a family member, it has opened our eyes to the intense suffering and painful journey that is death."

Kate and two half-sisters, Ashleigh Bell and Olivia Ledger, stood under clear blue skies at the Indiana Tea Room on Cottesloe Beach, one of Ledger's favorite spots and the site of his wake after his funeral. Ledger's father, Kim, and mother, Sally Bell, were also in attendance but did not speak to the media.

Ledger, 28, died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. He left behind his 3-year-old daughter, Matilda, with actress Michelle Williams.

"Michelle is doing an amazing job with 'our girl' and together we will cherish every moment of her steps through life," Kate Ledger said.

The actor's younger sister, Ashleigh, acknowledged his Oscar nomianation Thursday for his wicked portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight, noting that "in Heath's words, he had 'the time of his life.'"

"Although we would love to have him here with us, we are so proud and so excited on his behalf," Ashleigh said. "We will take this opportunity today to honor his wonderful life and take comfort in knowing Heath will continue to touch future generations through this amazing art form."

She added: "What an unbelievable legacy he has left for Matilda and our family."

The family enjoyed a commemorative lunch in the Indiana Tea Room after speaking with the media.

by People!

An Oscar for Heath Ledger? Knight Cast Thinks So

DC

Heath Ledger's costars from The Dark Knight, including two-time Batman Christian Bale, took turns at a press event this weekend praising and remembering the late actor's intense style. A few of them are even lobbying for a gold statue on his behalf.

"Definitely," said Aaron Eckhart, who plays doomed district attorney Harvey Dent to Ledger's droll and very creepy Joker. "Why not?"

Fellow cast member Gary Oldman was more pointed about it.

"Heath had this frequency none of us could hear," said Oldman. "The Academy tends to overlook movies like this, but this acting is so good it's going to be very hard for them to avoid it."

His other Gotham cohorts marveled at Ledger's obsession with detail:

He patched together influences ranging from A Clockwork Orange to ventriloquist dummies to Charlie Chaplin. The result: a Joker so demented and creepy he makes Nicholson's 1989 version look like Elton John in a bad mood.

"He called me during preproduction from time to time to tell me what he was working on," director Christopher Nolan recalled. "He told me he was researching the way ventriloquist dummies talk. It was a bit peculiar."

But when Nolan finally saw Heath's Joker onscreen, he got it. Ledger was trying for a vocal style that would match the Joker's chaotic character; even his pitch would be unpredictable, the same way that ventriloquists' voices would suddenly switch from low to high.

"He's raised the bar," said Bale.

If the Academy does honor Ledger for his Joker character, it would be only the second posthumous acting win ever. The first went to Peter Finch for the 1976 movie Network.

by E!

Big Knight, Downsized Summer

The second-biggest movie in Hollywood history. Sky-high ticket prices. Put them together, and what do you get? Surprisingly, not a record.

From the first weekend in May through Labor Day, the Dark Knight-led summer movie season raked in $4.13 billion, Exhibitor Relations said today, down a tick from last year's all-time figure of $4.16 billion.

The problem, if that's the word, since 2008 goes down as the second-biggest summer on record, was twofold: dwindling attendance; and, lack of a late-summer blockbuster.

Per Exhibitor Relations, Hollywood movies combined to sell about 580 million tickets, the least since 2000, and 25 million fewer admissions than last summer, when gas was cheaper, and, oh, yes, so were tickets, which, on nationwide average, topped $7 for the first time ever.

Despite economic realities, the summer might have been able to pull off another record take if only it had another Jason Bourne.

"After The Dark Knight, it was pretty limp," said Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock.

Where 2007 had a bona-fide August blockbuster in The Bourne Ultimatum, which grossed $228 million, this summer's August could do no better than the solid, but unspectacular The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which has wrapped up about $99 million so far.

The Batman evidently casts a long shadow.

Here are more box-office highlights—and lowlights—of the summer, per Box Office Mojo stats:

• Twelve summer-launched films made at least $100 million. Another five have a good shot at passing the milestone.
  
• Six films made at least $200 million. The group included: Kung Fu Panda ($214 million); WALL-E ($218 million); and, Hancock ($227 million).
• Three films made more than $300 million. That group included: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($316 million); and, Iron Man ($318 million).
• One film—The Dark Knight—made more than $500 million, and took second place behind Titanic among the all-time domestic box-office champs.
• As it turned out, what Hollywood needed more than one $500 million hit was one more $300 million hit. Last summer's top four movies (Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) actually outgrossed this summer's top four movies, despite no 2007 summer movie making more than $336 million.
• As it turned out, woman-fronted movies can make money. Both Sex and the City ($153 million) and Angelina Jolie's Wanted ($134 million) made the summer Top 10. Another movie, the Meryl Streep-led Mamma Mia! ($133 million), just missed the cut, and should pass Wanted shortly.
• When does a Top 10 finish mean diddley? When you're The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ($142 million), and you made half as much worldwide as your predecessor, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
• The Incredible Hulk won the battle of the Hulk movies…or did it? The new movie made $135 million from a reputed $150 million budget. The 2003 movie made $132 million from a reputed $137 million budget. Also, old Hulk grossed slightly more worldwide ($245 million) than new Hulk ($244 million).
• Last summer as this summer, Steve Carell starred in a $100 million-plus-grossing comedy. The difference is last summer's vehicle was the upside-down Evan Almighty ($101 million gross; $175 budget); this summer's was Get Smart ($128 million gross; $80 million budget).
• Assuming You Don't Mess with the Zohan ($99.9 million) can eke out another $110,000 or so, Adam Sandler will be spared his first sub-$100 million-performing mainstream comedy since Little Nicky.
• In the department of small victories and possible turning points, M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening ($64 million) wasn't Lady in the Water.
• Mike Myers dropped a digit, going from $323 million for last summer's Shrek the Third to $32 million for The Love Guru.
• Nominees for the bust of the summer include: Speed Racer ($44 million gross; $120 million budget); and, well…
• No film ran a bigger deficit—$76 million, reported budget versus domestic gross—than Speed Racer. Prince Caspian—$58 million in the hole on the domestic ledger—rates an honorable mention.
• Rain Wilson's The Rocker was something of the Speed Racer of low-budget comedies. No film opening very wide on more than 2,700 screens made less money in its opening weekend ($2.6 million).
• In the age of the record ticket price, how do you not make money (at least not yet) on a movie that only cost $35 million to produce? You gross $21 million, a la The X-Files: I Want to Believe.
• Based on the performance of Fly Me to the Moon ($7 million gross; $25 million budget), the future of Belgian-produced CGI movies about insects doesn't look bright.
• Tween girls giveth, and tween girls taketh away, which is one way to explain why The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 ($42 million) clicked, and Kit Kittredge: An All American Girl ($17 million) didn't.
• If you didn't release a movie this summer, then the dumped Clive Barker horror film, Midnight Meat Train, only made $83,361 more than you.

And here's a rundown of the summer's Top 10 movies, per grosses through Monday:

1. The Dark Knight, $505 million
2. Iron Man, $318 million
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $316 million
4. Hancock, $227 million
5. WALL-E, $218 million
   
6. Kung Fu Panda, $214 million
7. Sex and the City, $153 million
8. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, $142 million
9. The Incredible Hulk, $135 million
10. Wanted, $134 million

by E!

The Force Is With Dark Knight

Beware, Lord Vader.

The Dark Knight brought its overall domestic gross to $441.5 million today, per Exhibitor Relations estimates, moving the film to third among the all-time box office champs, and leaving it perhaps only a week away from trumping Star Wars for second place.

The Batman movie's Friday-Sunday take of $26 million gave the blockbuster its fourth-straight weekend box office win—a feat not accomplished since Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ruled in 2003-04.

Assuming the studio estimates hold, the weekend gross moved Dark Knight up four spots on the all-time list, as the film bypassed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($423 million), Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace ($431 million), E.T. ($435 million) and Shrek 2 ($441.2 million).

If The Dark Knight maintains its current pace, the movie should have enough momentum to overtake the original Star Wars ($461 million, including rereleases) by the end of next weekend.

After Star Wars, the next box office challenge for The Dark Knight will be to break $500 million.

After that, the next box office challenge will be to break Titanic ($601 million).

And after that, it can rest.

Drilling down through the box office standings:

• Pineapple Express ($22.4 million) bowed in second. After five days, the Seth Rogen-James Franco action-comedy, which opened Wednesday, has taken in $40.5 million against a reported $27 million budget. True, the Rogen-penned Superbad got off to an even faster start ($43.3 million in its first five days last August). But, also true, the Superbad guys didn't have to tangle with the Batman.
• In one of the sadder tales of the summer, The X-Files: I Want to Believe ($1.2 million, per Box Office Mojo) disappeared from the Top 10 after just a two-weekend stay. To date, the $35 million movie has failed to gross even $20 million overall, and managed to sell fewer tickets than Space Chimps ($1.7 million; $25.4 million).
• Like the new X-Files movie, Space Chimps fell out of the Top 10. Unlike the new X-Files movie, Space Chimps lasted there three weekends.
• In its second weekend, business for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (third place, $16.1 million; $70.7 million overall) plunged 60 percent.
• Now in its fourth weekend, Mamma Mia! (sixth place, $8.1 million; $104 million overall) hasn't seen weekend-to-weekend business dip even 40 percent.
• Will Farren's and John C. Reilly's Step Brothers (fifth place, $8.9 million; $80.9 million) is also sticking around.
• Let it be noted: The generally liked The Incredible Hulk ($287,000; $133.8 million overall, per Box Office Mojo) has made more money than the widely scorned Hulk ($132.2 million). Until you add in the foreign grosses.
• The Philip Roth-spawned drama Elegy, starring Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz, was, screen for screen, the biggest hit of the weekend, taking in $102,441 at six theaters.

Here's a recap of the top-grossing weekend films based on Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. The Dark Knight, $26 million
2. Pineapple Express, $22.4 million
3. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, $16.1 million
4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, $10.8 million
5. Step Brothers, $8.9 million
6. Mamma Mia!, $8.1 million
7. Journey to the Center of the Earth, $4.9 million
8. Hancock, $3.3 million
9. Swing Vote, $3.1 million
10. WALL-E, $3 million

by E!

The Dark Knight's Road to $600 Million…or Not

Warner Brothers, Disney

It posted the biggest opening weekend in Hollywood history. It scored the biggest opening week in Hollywood history.

It didn't come close to toppling Titanic.

The box-office tale of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest might help explain why reaching $600 million, even in the age of the $15 IMAX ticket, is the tallest of orders.

No one ever said making history was easy, Dark Knight.

Among the other five fastest starters in movie history, of which, by the way, Titanic isn't one, The Dark Knight is most closely following the path taken by Dead Man's Chest, the second Pirates movie released in 2006.

After its record-setting opening weekend, The Dark Knight neither plunged, à la Spider-Man 3, which saw ticket sales nosedive 62 percent in its second weekend, nor held up like Cher, à la the original Spider-Man, which dipped only 38 percent.

Instead, its rather standard 53-percent drop put the movie in line with Shrek the Third (56 percent) but even closer to Dead Man's Chest (54 percent).

Like Dark Knight, Dead Man's Chest was a July opener, with no Memorial Day holiday weekend handy to boost admissions. Like Dark Knight, the movie did just fine on its own, grossing at least $10 million a day (and often much more) for its first 10 days. (The Dark Knight went 11 straight days, before "falling" to $9.6 million on Tuesday.)

And like Dark Knight, Dead Man's Chest sped to $200 million and then $300 million in record time.

Then, as it neared $400 million, Dead Man's Chest reached its tipping point.

On day 39, per the stats at The-Numbers.com, the movie failed for the first time to gross at least $1 million in a single day.

From there on, Dead Man's Chest, which had made $393 million-ish through its first six weekends, made just $30 million more through its next 16.

By the end of its run, Dead Man's Chest had accumulated $423 million, a spectacular amount, currently good for sixth place on the all-time list.

But Titanic's even more spectacular haul hadn't been seriously challenged.

As it turned out, Dead Man's Chest went about things all wrong. The way to gross $601 million is:

• Opener smaller than The Flintstones. (Titanic's $28.6 million debut is the 238th "biggest" of all time, per Box Office Mojo.)
• Play at fewer theaters, at your peak, than Lost in Space.
• Never, ever make more than $13.6 million in a single day.

But mostly:

• Post your second-biggest day ($13.1 million) on your 58th day in release. (Note: It's easier to do this if, a few days prior, you nab a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations.)
• Instead of falling by 50 percent in your second weekend, go up by 24 percent.
• Go up by 25 percent in your fifth weekend.
• Don't sell fewer than $1 million worth of tickets until…day 102.

In short, make money consistently, constantly and, above all, crazily. And do it all with movie ticket prices going for about $4.69, instead of today's $7.08 average.

Like Dead Man's Chest, The Dark Knight is going about things all wrong. But getting off to the biggest and fastest start ever can make things right.

If Dark Knight stays on the Dead Man's Chest course of gradual midweek declines and modest weekend falloffs—no small task, despite the Batman movie's much stronger reviews—it would pass $400 million sometime next week, and set yet another record. By its ninth weekend, it would cross $500 million, a benchmark that so far only Titanic has passed.

But before that, sometime around Labor Day, near the 45-day mark, The Dark Knight would reach its own tipping point, and fall to under $1 million for midweek daily grosses.

The resilient Titanic managed to gross another $85 million after it posted its first sub-$1 million day. If The Dark Knight did that—and, again, Dead Man's Chest couldn't make even half that much from that point forward—it would get closer to $600 million than any movie this decade. And still fall short.

No, no one ever said making history was easy.

by E!

Dark Knight Makes Record-Breaking $300M in 10 Days

Heath Ledger as the Joker
Photo by: Warner Bros

No argument: The Dark Knight is Hollywood's brightest light.

The Batman adventure, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, shattered another box-office benchmark this weekend – reaching beyond the $300 million mark in a mere 10 days.

The movie grossed $75.6 million in its second weekend in theaters, bringing its North American box-office total to $314,245,000, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman tells the Associated Press.

The number breaks the record established by 2006's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which hit $300 million after 16 days.

Fellman says Dark Knight could conceivably reach the $400-million mark in about 18 days – placing it ahead of Shrek 2's 43-day record in 2004.

Hold on to your life preservers – The Dark Knight might also surpass 1997's Titanic as the highest-grossing film in U.S. history, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. That sinking-ship saga, starring Leonardo Di Caprio, made $600,788,188 domestically.

Rounding out this weekend's top five at the box office were Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in Step Brothers, with an estimated $30 million; Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, $17.9 million; David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in The X-Files: I Want to Believe, $10.2 million; and Brendan Fraser in Journey to the Center of the Earth, $9.4 million.

Christian Bale Braves Red Carpet at Barcelona Dark Knight Premiere

Getty Images

Making his first public appearance since being questioned by police for allegations of assault earlier this week, actor Christian Bale surprised many on Wednesday by showing up to the Barcelona premiere of his new hit film The Dark Knight.

The 34-year-old star is accused of assault by his sister and mother after a Sunday night altercation at London's Dorchester Hotel that ultimately resulted in Christian spending four hours being questioned by police on Tuesday morning. Through a statement released by his rep, the actor has denied any wrongdoing in the situation.

At the premiere in Barcelona, Christian walked the red carpet with his wife Sibi, as well as his Dark Knight co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal. And though he did stop to sign several autographs for his adoring fans outside the Coliseum Theater, Christian did not answer any questions from reporters.

This is the second premiere this week for the cast and crew of The Dark Knight. After the incident at the Dorchester, but before the news of the scandal broke, Christian attended Monday night's star-studded screening at the Odeon Theatre in London's Leicester Square.

by OK!

Christian Bale Denies Assault Allegations

Photo by: Ronald Asadorian / Splash News

Christian Bale's attorneys released a statement Tuesday denying assault allegations that led to the actor's arrest in London.

"Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister," the star's lawyers said in the statement. "Mr. Bale who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police. At this time, there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale."

Bale, 34, was arrested in the Belgravia precinct station on Tuesday for a Sunday incident in which he allegedly lashed out at his mother, Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, at London's Dorchester Hotel. He was staying at the hotel before Monday's U.K. premiere of The Dark Knight.

"There was an incident but the police are dealing with it," Sharon told the Telegraph newspaper in the U.K. "It is an extremely sensitive situation. There is nothing more I can say."

According to Britain's The Sun newspaper, the women reported the incident in Hampshire on Monday, and the case was turned over to London officers.

Bale was released later Tuesday with a 10-man police escort, in a blacked-out silver Mercedes people carrier. Bale is to return to police in September, pending further inquiry, a police spokesperson tells PEOPLE.

It is a policy in England to arrest a suspect before questioning him in connection to a possible crime. Bale has not been formally charged.

Christian Bale Released After Alleged Assault Arrest

Christian Bale in London
Photo by: Gareth Cattermole / Getty

Batman's Christian Bale was arrested in London Tuesday, following assault allegations reportedly made by his own mother and sister.

He was released from the precinct station later in the afternoon, and he is to return to a station in September, pending further inquiry, a police rep tells PEOPLE.

Bale, 34, allegedly lashed out at his mother Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, on Sunday at London's Dorchester hotel, where the actor was staying before Monday's U.K. premiere of The Dark Knight.

According to Britain's The Sun newspaper, Bale's mother and sister went to a police station in Hampshire Monday, which turned the case over to London officers.

“A 34-year-old man attended a central London police station this morning, by appointment, and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault," a police spokesman told PEOPLE. "He is currently in custody.”

It is a policy in England to arrest a suspect before questioning him in connection to a possible crime. Bale has not been formally charged, therefore the police did not release his name.

Late afternoon Tuesday, a police spokeswoman told PEOPLE: "A 34-year-man has been [asked] to return to a central London police station on a date in September, pending further inquiries."

At 4:20 p.m. London time, Bale, with a 10-man police escort, was taken from the Belgravia police station's rear exit into a blacked-out silver Mercedes people carrier and transported to the Dorchester hotel, where he was driven into the underground entrance.

Monday – the morning after the alleged incident – Bale appeared on GMTV, a U.K. morning show. Bloggers called the actor grumpy, but a GMTV spokesman told PEOPLE, "He didn't seem on edge."

Bale is scheduled to be in Barcelona Thursday for the record-breaking film's Spanish-language premiere.

by People.

Dark Knight Shatters Hollywood Record: $158,411,483

Heath Ledger's Joker and Christian Bale's Batman match wits in The Dark Knight
Photo by: Stephen Vaughan / Warner Bros

In case you haven't heard – or witnessed at any cineplex this weekend – The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's dark sequel about the Caped Crusader, took in $158,411,483 since Friday.

Speaking on Britain's GMTV Monday morning, the star of the picture, Christian Bale of the impressive box-office take: "It's Monopoly money to me – I can't even comprehend it."

Along with a hearty $27.6 million opening take for Mamma Mia – the best ever for a musical, topping last year's Hairspray opening – this turned out to be the best three-day weekend in Hollywood history.

Previously, a $218.4 million weekend in July 2007 held that distinction, largely thanks to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

The Dark Knight's haul also exceeds the $151.1 million Spider-Man 3 made its May 2007 opening weekend. Buoyed by mostly rave notices and Oscar buzz about Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker, Bale's second outing as Batman is expected to make $220 million in its first week alone – already more than Nolan's first reboot, Batman Begins, made in its entire U.S. run, reports Variety.

Among the other records broken by The Dark Knight: biggest midnight release ($18.5 million), biggest weekend on IMAX screens ($6.2 million), top single-day take on a Friday ($67.9 million), and most screens (4,366), the Los Angeles Times reports.

Overseas, the movie was on track to perform similarly, making a strong $40 million on 4,500 screens in 20 territories, breaking the Australian weekend opening for a superhero movie ($13.1 million) and Brazil's best opening this year ($4.3 million).

Women Went to See Streep

As expected, Mamma Mia, starring Meryl Streep, appealed to women – who made up an estimated 75 percent of its audience – making the bubbly ABBA musical a excellent complement to The Dark Knight's brooding action flick.

There just wasn't enough for two blockbuster superhero sequels in theaters, though. Hellboy II: The Golden Army dropped a precipitous 71 percent from last weekend's top spot to fifth place, while Will Smith's Hancock stayed in the fight at third place. And Star Chimps took in a relatively measly $7.1 million for its opening, earning it seventh place.

by People, Box Office Mojo.

Holy $66 Million Debut, Batman!

Warner Bros. Pictures

In a made-up word: Bat-tastic.

The Dark Knight pulled in an astonishing $66 million Friday, and looked to be on pace for a record opening weekend, Exhibitor Relations Co. estimated today.

Spider-Man 3, we hardly knew ye.

As of Dark Knight's $66 million debut, Spider-Man 3, which opened with $59.8 million last year, lost its titles as the biggest-ever opener and biggest-ever single-day grosser.

By Sunday, Exhibitor Relations said, The Dark Knight could boast a three-day weekend take of $155 million, a number that would best Spider-Man 3's $151.1 million, and trump the latter movie's last remaining glamour record.

Big business for Batman is meaning big business for all of Hollywood, with Exhibitor Relations calling for the weekend's top 12 films to cumulatively top $250 million, well above the record $218 million that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Superman Returns led the Industry to in 2006.

Also aiding Hollywood's bottom line is Mamma Mia!, the Meryl Streep-led ABBA musical that, for a non-Batman movie, enjoyed a killer opening. Its estimated $9.7 million Friday gross positions it to potentially beat out Hairspray as the biggest-opening movie musical.

Space Chimps, which bowed with an estimated $2.5 million Friday, appears to have not gotten the let's-make-a-lot-of-money memo.

by E!