In 1989 Batman basically invented how the modern audience interacts with tent-pole releases. Not only did it fundamentally give rise to the angry fanboy in casting Michael Keaton (imagine if the internet had been around back then?!) it was also the first original movie to be anticipated like a sequel. From the moment the first publicity stills appeared up to release, the film attracted the kind of hype that accompanies comic book movie releases today, and despite the fact that it was an unprecedented project, the opening weekend response was phenomenal. The same fans who had bemoaned Keaton's casting flocked to the cinema, earning Burton's film a massive $42.6m over its first three days, smashing the records recently set by Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and Ghostbusters II of $29m, and breaking single day records for all three days. And then, in its second weekend, it took $30m, and while the returns slowed down, that immediate impact hints at the excitement fans had to see it. While Nolan's films were hyped to an unimaginable level, none of them had the same kind of immediate impact as the first one managed way back in 1989 without a culture of such response even really existing.
