Batman subsequence The Dark Knight plastered yet another Hollywood record as it cleared the US$400 million (NZ$550m)�domestic box office mark in 18 days, less than half the clock time it took Shrek 2 to hit that milestone.
After a third straight weekend at No. 1 in US and Canadian theaters - grossing $42.7 million Friday through Sunday - Dark Knight amassed $6.3 million on Monday to bring its domestic hit to $400.03 one thousand thousand, Warner Bros�reported.
The previous immortalise holder, the computer-animated storybook spoof Shrek 2, crossed the $400 million deutschmark in 43 days back in 2004, according to box authority watcher Media By Numbers.
Warner Bros has said it expects Dark Knight to add at least some other $100 billion to its North American ticket gross sales, surpassing the $461 jillion haul of 1977's Star Wars and its two reissues.
Star Wars ranks as the No. 2 motion-picture show of all time in the United States and Canada.
While Dark Knight appears destined to become only the second gear movie to gross $500 million domestically, the $601 million record held by 1997's Titanic seems unlikely to sink, said Media By Numbers president Paul Dergarabedian.
"That $600 million is kind of one for the ages. It's held for 10 years," Dergarabedian told Reuters.
"It's very, very difficult to get from $500 billion to $600 million. But the fact we're even talking about it tells you something about the strength of The Dark Knight and what a phenomenon it is."
Adjusted for inflation, though, Titanic ranks at No. 6 in the disk books, far behind Gone with the Wind at $1.4 billion, according to trailing firm Box Office Mojo.
The Dark Knight, the second gear of the newly reanimated Warner Bros. film franchise based on the adventures of DC Comics' Batman character, is a follow-up to 2005's Batman Begins.
Both films were directed by Christopher Nolan and star Welsh role player Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader.
Interest in the sequel has been stoked by Heath Ledger's highly strung turn as the nefarious Joker, in what off out to be the Australian actor's last completed role before he died of an accidental overdose of prescription pills in January.
The moving picture already has broken several domestic box office records, including the biggest single-day of all time for its first day in theaters ($67.2 million); biggest opening weekend ($158.4 million) and fastest to $200 million (five days).
Through this past weekend, Dark Knight had grossed an additional $205 million oversea, Warner Bros said.
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