The Dark Knight returns to theaters in Jan. for Oscar push

You've already seen it six times, so what’s one more? Warner Bros. has announced it plans to re-release The Dark Knight in January on IMAX screens to solidify a push for Academy Awards consideration.

Unlikely awards talk came before the movie was even released when early screenings drew calls for a posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger. His penultimate performance as The Joker is widely believed to have driven the movie’s enormous success in theaters, where not even two months after its release it is already the second-highest-grossing film ever in North America.

Although serious awards talk for blockbusters of Knight’s magnitude is rare in recent years, the movie had an uncommonly good run with critics, and its prospects follow years of declining viewership for the Academy Awards ceremony often tied to the obscurity of the films that win top awards. (Indeed, the most-watched telecast of the past 30 years aired in 1998, when 55 million people watched to see Titanic—the only movie in history with higher box-office returns than The Dark Knight—win its 11 Academy Awards.) Of course, most Academy voters don't have a vested interest in raising those ratings, but if Knight did become a contender, it certainly wouldn't be the first movie to ride the momentum of commercial success to Oscar recognition.
 
For now, Warner says it is only in talks with IMAX theaters, though conventional theaters are also a possibility. Similar re-releases have become common practice for films released in the summer or early fall. Last year, Michael Clayton and No Country For Old Men, the eventual best-picture winner, both took advantage of second theatrical runs.
 
The Dark Knight is set for a multi-version DVD release in December.

Related links:
News: New Dark Knight sequel rumors shot down almost instantly
News: Following The Dark Knight's success, what villian now?
Review: The Dark Knight

Got a news tip for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.