"The Dark Knight" now playing in the U.S.

Variety is reporting that "The Dark Knight" has already set a box office record for midnight openings. Screened for the public early this morning all across the United States, Christopher Nolan's sequel to "Batman Begins" earned an estimated $18.5 million, outclassing the previous record held by George Lucas' "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," which went on to make $50 million in its first day. The record of highest single-day opening is presently held by Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3." "Dark Knight" distributor Warner Bros. reported the $18.5 million figure does not include screenings at 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM. With these early figures giving us a clue as to how the Batman film will perform over the weekend, now is the perfect time to take CBR's poll asking how much money you think "The Dark Knight" will earn over the next three days. For more on "The Dark Knight," be sure to check out CBR's index of all our coverage of the film, including reviews, interviews and reports from the live viral events. Now discuss this story in CBR's TV/Film forum.