Batman Breaks $1 Billion At Box Office

"The Dark Knight" has become the fourth film ever to reach $1 billion in worldwide box office receipts, joining "Titanic," "Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" in the exclusive club.

The superhero film broke box office records during its opening weekend, earning $155.3 million to top the previous top weekend gross set by "Spider-Man 3."

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And "The Dark Knight," shot partially with IMAX cameras, has also become the top-grossing IMAX release of all time.

"The Dark Knight" is up for 8 Oscars at Sunday night's 81st Annual Academy Awards ceremony, including the late Heath Ledger's Best Supporting Actor nomination for his searing performance as the Joker.

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As for a sequel, while director Chris Nolan is expected to helm a third Batman movie (he also directed 2002's successful franchise reboot, "Batman Begins,"), his next project is the science fiction drama "Inception."

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