Batman at the Box Office

In the sixty years that Batman has been a comic strip it has found success in both print form as well as a lavish and colourful television series in the sixties.

But the movie versions have brought the cult character to a new audience as well as becoming a major box office success.

This weeks sees Christopher Nolan return to the director's chair and Christian Bale reprises the role as the caped crusader after the success of Batman Begins in 2005.

But the whole success of Batman on the big screen had begun in the late eighties when maverick director Tim Burton took the ideas from the lavish coloured TV series and turned it on it's head as he produced a dark film with a shadowy and troubled hero.

Despite these stark changes that Burton made the 1989 movie was a massive box office hit as Keaton's dark and brooding hero, despite the actor being a surprise choice for the lead role, was critical hit.

The film grossed over $411 million at the global box office and, despite the string of movies that have followed, is still the highest grossing DC Comic adaptation at the box office.

The success of the film led to Warner Bros. Animation creating an animation series as well as establishing Batman as a film series which has gone on to become one of cinema's most successful franchises.