Dark Knight shoots to $400 mn mark in record time

LOS ANGELES: Add another entry for "The Dark Knight" in Hollywood's record books: The Batman sequel has climbed past $400 million at the box office in just 18 days, the fastest pace ever, a studio executive said on Tuesday.

As of Monday, "The Dark Knight" had taken in $400.03 million domestically, according to distributor Warner Bros.

Jeff Goldstein, general sales manager for Warner, said the film hit that mark in less than half the time it took for the previous record-holder, "Shrek 2," which crossed the $400 million level on its 43rd day of release.

"The Dark Knight" is now No 8 on the all-time box-office charts, and it should move up to No 7 on Tuesday, passing the $403.7 million haul of the original "Spider-Man." That will make "The Dark Knight" the top-grossing comic-book adaptation ever.