Clowning Around

By now you're probably heard that The Dark Knight is the biggest movie ever*. Time gives these reasons for its domination at the box office:

• Heath Ledger's performance (and untimely death)
• Good marketing/hype
• Great reviews

I second that. The Marketing team did a great job and came up with some creative hype-builders, such as Gotham Times papers and 'I Believe in Harvey Dent' buttons. Ledger's performance was amazing (part way through I had to remind myself this was the guy from Brokeback Mountain and not just a crazy man). Not only were hardcore fans willing to shell out $10 (or more), but people who might have not been interested otherwise were swayed by good reviews. That all makes sense.

However, Time neglects to mention the "untargeted" audience. That's right.

Grandparents.

My friend's grandmother went to see The Dark Knight against my friend's warnings. You won't like it, she claimed. It's really not for you. But Grandma surprised. This is her review:

"That Joker fellow was having a grand ol' time. He would kill people and then he would just laugh and laugh. It was a terrific film. Anyway, sorry to cut this conversation short but I have to get back to Masterpiece Theater."

Sure, we all knew fanboys would go see Batman. But what the studios didn't expect was the grandma quotient.

Great job, Grandma!

*at time of posting