How Much Money Did The Dark Knight Make

Between 2005 and 2012, Warner Bros. Pictures released three live-action Batman movies. The films – directed by Christopher Nolan – starred Christian Bale in the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, alongside an impressive cast that included Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Heath Ledger, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Aaron Eckhart, Marion Cotillard, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Katie Holmes and many others across the series.

The films included Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Collectively the movies are referred to as The Dark Knight trilogy.

Every entry in The Dark Knight trilogy was a critical and financial hit for Warner Bros. If you would like to know more about the ratings for these movies then check out my posts: 'Every Batman movie rating on IMDb' and 'The average Batman movie rating on Rotten Tomatoes'.

But how well did these movies do financially?

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Batman Begins

Image: ©Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Entertainment

Produced on a budget of $150 million, Batman Begins took $206,852,432 at the North American box office, with a further $167,366,241 internationally.

Batman Begins total: $374,218,673

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The Dark Knight

Produced on a budget of $185 million (an increase on Batman Begins' budget), The Dark Knight made an impressive $535,234,033 domestically, and an equally impressive $469,700,000 internationally – almost three times as much as Batman Begins made at the box office.

The Dark Knight total: $1,004,934,033

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The Dark Knight Rises

Produced on a budget of $250 million (an increase on The Dark Knight's budget), The Dark Knight Rises took $448,139,099 in North America and $636,800,000 internationally. The film made less in the US than its predecessor, but it made more in the foreign market.

The Dark Knight Rises total: $1,084,939,099

Each film had an increase in budget, but it paid off as every film in The Dark Knight trilogy made more than the one before. The trilogy also produced two Batman movies that crossed the $1 billion mark – something that had never happened before.

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

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Conclusion

OK, so that's the individual totals, now let's do the maths:

Batman Begins total: $374,218,673
The Dark Knight total: $1,004,934,033
The Dark Knight Rises total: $1,084,939,099

The Dark Knight trilogy total: $2,464,091,805

Not bad, right? The Dark Knight trilogy made almost $2.5 billion from three movies, with each film taking more as the series developed.

These films were hugely successful for Warner Bros. Pictures, not just because they were financial hits (or though that helped a lot), but because they were so well received by critics and audiences alike. Critics liked them, audiences liked them and during 2005-2012 there was a positive buzz about the Batman movie series.

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I hope this information has been useful. If you would like to delve deeper into the Batman film series, check out my post: ' Batman movies: A reference guide'. This post answers a number of questions regarding the Batman films – from Batman: The Movie (1966) to Justice League and beyond.

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