This economy is rough on everybody - even former Caped Crusaders. Tricked out Batcaves, Batmobiles, Bat Shark Repellent, none of that stuff is cheap. When things don’t go well and stately Wayne Manor’s property value dives, what do you do? Have a garage sale, of course. This clip comes from Will Ferrell’s Funny Or Die and it’s good stuff. Trust me, I’m an expert on superheroes - and being broke.

This just in: it seems someone at Warner Bros. has realized well done comic book movies can make money. Writer/director David Goyer, who penned the script for The Dark Knight, told Inland Empire Strikes Back Warner has placed all DC Comics movie projects on hold.

Goyer said the company is taking time to figure out a better plan for the development of these movies. They are, after all, cash cows with huge potential. The year 2008 will be remembered as a landmark year for comic book projects. Marvel Comics became the first comic company to have its own studio and came charging out of the gate with summer blockbuster Iron Man. A Samuel L. Jackson cameo at the end of that movie set up the storyline for an Avengers film. Marvel carried it on as Tony Stark showed up in The Incredible Hulk to talk about the team they’re getting together.

TM & © DC Comics.
Photo by Stephen Vaughan

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The Dark Knight is still a juggernaut, mowing down any box office record standing in its path. The Batman sequel has raked in $300 million in 10 days. That passed the record set by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest which made $300 million in 16 days.

The movie is benefiting from strong word-of-mouth, great reviews and repeat viewings. Experts are now giving it a shot at the $600 million record set by Titanic. No movie in the past decade has come remotely close to that mark. If any film can, Dark Knight looks to be the one.

To shatter the record held by Titanic, you need to be an event picture. This one certainly is. You need breakout performances and Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart deliver them. Publicity is needed and boy do we have that going. Ledger’s getting posthumous Oscar buzz. Bale is the lead story on every entertainment news show because of his ill-timed legal trouble. This may be the perfect Bat-storm, comic book flick fans.

TM & © DC Comics.
Photo by Stephen Vaughan

Sorry Spidey, another one of your records just fell to the Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight hit the $200 million mark in just five days, surpassing the eight days it took Spider-Man 2 to get there.

Now experts are speculating it could make as much as $500 million and might even have a shot at finishing just behind Titanic in all-time gross. Titanic pulled in $600.8 million domestically and $1.84 billion overall during its record run.

There is some concern that the negative publicity surrounding Christian Bale’s arrest could have a bad effect on the movie’s box office. But as the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

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The recent events surrounding Dark Knight star Christian Bale are tinged with quite a bit of irony. After all, many folks in Gotham want the police to bring Batman in for his vigilante acts. Then, the actor gets arrested in a family dispute. Between Bale’s arrest and Heath Ledger’s death, the word curse is going to start being thrown around in connection with this movie.

I’m not about to pass judgment here, I’ve got a few family members I’m surprised I haven’t hit yet. I’m not thinking this will do anything to the movie’s second weekend take. I am a little worried about Warner Bros. overreacting because as we know, they’ll recast Batman at the drop of a cowl. At the rate the franchise was deteriorating I think Vin Diesel was in line to play Batman.

As most anticipated, Spider-Man 3’s record opening weekend fell at the hands of The Dark Knight. The long awaited Batman sequel took in an estimated $155 million over the weekend. It also had the biggest opening day ever with $66.4 million and the most money from midnight showings, $18.5 million.

Bat-mania reached an all-time high due to the untimely passing of Heath Ledger and his critically-acclaimed performance as The Joker. His dark, twisted villain is drawing some of the best reviews of any bad guy in cinema history.

With this being the last big film of the summer, it’s expected to have a good long run at or near the top. It’s of course the type of movie that lends itself to repeat viewings, so these numbers are only going to grow.

TM & © DC Comics.
Photo by Stephen Vaughan

The term “comic book movie” can’t even be used in connection with The Dark Knight. While its characters may have originated between the pages of DC Comics, Christopher Nolan has forged a masterpiece that is a gritty crime drama, a study in human behavior and a knockdown, dragout action flick.

Spoilers after the jump.

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                                       Now that Tony Stark is on his way to becoming the same kind of household name that Bruce Wayne has always been, we have to ask the tough question.

Who’s your favorite billionaire crimefighting playboy? Who would win in a drinking contest? Will The Dark Knight shatter Iron Man’s box office take? I’m not going to ask who’d win a fight, because I’m sure Bats would have something in his utility belt to cause Tony a heart attack.

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After all, Batman beats up Superman all the time. Seriously, it’s not even close. Batman has beaten the likes of Superman, Darkseid and Amazo yet we’re still supposed to feel suspense when he fights the Penguin.

No, I really just want to know who you’d rather go hang out at the Playboy Mansion with.

Acclaimed writer Grant Morrison’s widely anticipated Batman:RIP storyline hits shelves May 14. I don’t think anybody believes DC Comics plans to kill its Cash Bat, particularly with The Dark Knight coming to theaters July 18.

Bruce Wayne retiring for a while? But he took a year off in 52. Bats is kind of a type A personality. Two vacations in the same decade seems unlikely. But DC is teasing that someone else may pick up the Bat-Mantle. DC brass say Morrison has been working on this for years and recently we have seen an increase in “potential Batmen.”

There’s Batman’s son Damien. There’s the recently resurrected Jason Todd. As always, there’s the former Robin Dick Grayson. Maybe they all start wearing the cowl and duking it out. A theory on the message boards that makes some sense to me is that Batman is presumed dead and goes back to being the “urban legend” of the DC Universe.

Criminals would be even more scared of Batman if he’s supposed to be dead. They are, as you may have heard, a cowardly and superstitious lot.

TM & © DC Comics.
Photo by Stephen Vaughan

It’s down to the final two, folks. SFUniverse fans will soon declare either The Dark Knight or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the movie they want to see most this summer. Iron Man got pretty soundly thrashed, which I was a little shocked by. Vote early and often in our poll about the summer’s most anticipated movie.

Not only would I like to see who our readers think is the biggest hero this summer, I’d love to know why. Let us hear your comments on whether Batarangs or fedoras are the order of the day.