‘The Dark Knight’: Breaks box-office record

The Dark Knight continues to smash records at the box office. A mere five days into its domestic theatrical run, the second Batman movie from star Christian Bale and director Christopher Nolan has earned a whopping $203.8 mil. That utterly obliterates the old record for the fastest movie to reach the $200 mil mark, set by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which took eight days to achieve the feat. It’s worth noting that the Pirates sequel went on to earn $423.3 mil domestically — a sum that now appears to be in reach for The Dark Knight in the long run.

Following a record-breaking opening weekend, during which it grossed a staggering $158.4 mil, the comic-book flick banked $24.5 mil on Monday (the best non-holiday Monday gross ever) and $20.9 mil on Tuesday (the best non-holiday Tuesday take of all time). The total earnings for The Dark Knight‘s first four days of release ($182.9 mil) and first five days out ($203.8 mil) are also new historical highs. What’s more, in less than a week, the film has earned almost as much as its predecessor, 2005’s Batman Begins, grossed during its entire run ($205.3 mil), and this film has already brought in more money than four of the previous six live-action Batman movies made in theaters.

At press time, The Dark Knight ranks No. 84 on the all-time domestic box office roster (a notch behind Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was the highest-grossing movie of 1991). To track its fast ascension up the list, check back with EW.com on Friday for our weekly Box Office Preview.