The Dark Knight Rakes It In, from Previews!

The Dark Knight, the latest film in the Batman series, has already raked in a record smashing $18.5 million from midnight preview screenings prior to the movie's official Friday release, Reuters reported.

The film, featuring the return of Christian Bale as Batman, and Sir Michael Caine as the ever proper Alfred, will be the final completed work of the late Heath Ledger, who stars as the infamous Joker.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight cost $185 million to make, and critics seem to be confident that its debut will eclipse the $100.1 million that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opened with earlier this year.

According to BBC News, the record for money made off preview screenings had previously been held by Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and its $16.9 million, since 2005.

Batman Begins, which opened in 2005, made almost $49 million in profits in its opening weekend in North America, and then proceeded to cash in approximately $372 million worldwide, reports BBC. With The Dark Knight projected to make anything over or including $100 million during its opening weekend in North America, the numbers are looking good.

If the new Batman film debuts at $100 million, Reuters reports, it would surpass the $47 million that the last five Batman movies grossed on average more than two-fold. Since 1989, those films have together accumulated over $1.6 billion in worldwide ticket sales.

The Dark Knight will be up against Spider-Man 3, making $151 million in May 2007, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which opened with $135.6 million in 2006, making more money than any July release to date.