National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2020
“Bob Kane and Bill Finger's dark, enduring creation first flew onto the screen in a 1943 B-movie serial and would return to theaters several times in treatments both camp and action-oriented.”
Warner Bros. Entertainment · Legendary Pictures · Syncopy Inc. · 153 min
Box office
$1.01B worldwide on a $185M budget
Honors
Academy Awards — 2 wins, 8 nominationsNational Board of Review — 1 winMTV Movie Award — 1 winKids' Choice Award — 1 nominationAll 4 wins · 9 nominations on record
Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor
Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing
National Board of Review: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
MTV Movie Award: Best Villain
Scholarship
Named in the title of 23 peer-reviewed works
Examples
The Dark Knight Rises, 2012
The Dark Knight, 2012
The Dark Knight — Journal of Religion & Film, 2008
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Released in 2008 by Warner Bros., The Dark Knight arrived as the middle chapter of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy and quickly became a cultural landmark. Building on Batman Begins, it recast the superhero picture as urban crime drama, earning acclaim for its tone, scale, and performances, including Heath Ledger's posthumous Oscar win. The film's box office success and critical reception reshaped studio expectations for comic-book adaptations, proving they could carry the weight of prestige filmmaking. It remains one of the most referenced entries in modern blockbuster history.
This cell carries the name Bruce Wayne, the alter ego at the center of the story, the industrialist whose double life gives the film its human core. Collectors seek frames tied to this identity because it represents the man beneath the mask, the connective tissue between Gotham's public face and its hidden protector. A cell bearing only this name points to character rather than spectacle, a quiet marker of identity within a film built on moral tension. Such a piece stands as a small, tangible fragment of the character study running through the trilogy.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Dark Knight (2008).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge, evenly spaced and cleanly punched; bottom-edge perforations are partially obscured by the soundtrack area but appear present.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern consistent with a stereo optical track; a blue-tinted band alongside it suggests a Dolby Digital data block strip between the perforations and the optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at the resolution shown.
Base & colour
The base shows a cyan-tinted safety stock; the dye image appears warm and well-saturated with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks or heavy scratching are apparent; the surface appears consistent with a projected release print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of The Dark Knight (2008).
Era check
The combination of a cyan-tinted safety base, dual bilateral variable-area optical track, and apparent Dolby Digital data strip is consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the late 2000s.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063058
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
