LOS ANGELES – Batman has proven unstoppable, taking out all his rivals, but this time at the box office.

The Dark Knight, the sixth movie featuring the superhero, has become the fastest moneymaker in Hollywood history, exceeding USD 400 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada in 18 days, the Hollywood Reporter, a newspaper covering the entertainment industry, said Tuesday.

The previous record holder was 2004’s Shrek 2, which took 43 days to reach the same mark.

The Dark Knight’s ticket sales in the rest of the world has pushed its total income up to USD 602.5 million as of Monday, according to the website Box Office Mojo.

Film industry observers said they expected the movie to exceed USD 500 million in domestic sales, but surpassing the top grosser of all time, Titanic at 600.8 million dollars, was seen as unlikely, even for a superhero.

But the Dark Knight has set other records. It took in USD 67.2 million on its opening day 18 July in the United States and Canada, eclipsing the previous record set by Spider-Man 3 at nearly USD 60 million.

It also had the biggest opening weekend with USD 158.4 million and has gone on to be the top grosser for three-straight weekends.

The movie has drawn rave critical reviews, but a bigger boost to sales was believed to be the final performance of Heath Ledger’s career as the Joker. Ledger, 28, died in January of an accidental overdose of prescription medicine.

The Dark Knight also stars Christian Bale as Batman and Michael Caine as the butler Alfred as well as Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart.

Only eight films in Hollywood history have grossed more than USD 400 million in the United States and Canada.

After 1998’s Titanic came 1977’s Star Wars with USD 461 million, Shrek 2 at USD 441.2 million, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial at USD 435.1 million, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace with USD 431.1 million, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest at USD 423.3 million, Spider-Man at USD 403.7 million and now The Dark Knight.

[dpa / Expatica]