Dark Knight Tops Spidey's Box-Office Record

Batman has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood's box office superheroes. The Dark Knight took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend, according to Warner Bros., which released the Batman Begins sequel. That figure topped Hollywood's previous best of $151.1 million, set by Spider-Man 3 in May 2007.

On opening day Friday, The Dark Knight pulled in a record $67.85 million, up nearly $1.5 million from the studio's estimates a day earlier. "We knew it would be big, but we never expected to dominate the marketplace like we did," said a Warner Bros. spokesman. But Spider-Man 3 may have sold more tickets, because the average 2008 admission price is $7.08, up from $6.88 last year.