Record crowds turned out for Friday's midnight (0400 GMT) opening of "The Dark Knight" at movie theaters around the United States, and Batman fans continued to crowd theaters as the day wore on.
"When we were leaving at 3 a.m. people were still streaming in," said Susan Pepsin, 31, who saw the film at the Arclight theater in Hollywood, California.
In New York City, the AMC Lincoln Square multiplex _ seldom packed on a weekday _ didn't have a free seat at midmorning, and lines lengthened all day. Many fans were back after trying and failing to get into packed midnight performances.
Media By Numbers, a tracking firm, said the Warner Bros. film, directed by Christopher Nolan, set a box office record for a midnight debut, bringing in $18.5 million from midnight Friday screenings in 3,040 theaters. That bested the 2005 performance of "Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith," which took in $16.9 million at its debut.
"The Dark Knight" figure didn't include any of its 3 a.m. (0700 GMT) or 6 a.m. (1000 GMT) showings.
The movie already has opened in Australia and the Philippines and is scheduled to open in other countries in coming days.
Of course, as the latest installment in the Batman series, "The Dark Knight" likely would have been an event even without the added interest over Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in the film. Ledger died at 28 in January of an accidental prescription drug overdose.
But Ledger seemed at the top of everyone's mind, and during the show, fans applauded many of the actor's particularly demonic moments.
"He was unbelievable," said Michael Loizon, a 23-year-old asset manager in New York. "I had no idea he'd be THAT good."
His and his colleague, Michael Holmgren, played hooky from work to see the film. They didn't get in trouble, though _ their boss came, too.
"The Dark Knight," directed by Christopher Nolan, also stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman.
