Dark Knight returning to theaters and IMAX in January

Warner Bros. is bringing The Dark Knight back for a return engagement in theatres and IMAX on January 23th 2009, giving audiences one more chance to see the film on the big screen. The film will re-open nationwide, it was announced today by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Distribution.

One of the most celebrated and successful films of recent years, The Dark Knight has been hailed by both critics and audiences since its original release last July. The film garnered widespread acclaim for its artistic and technical achievements, including the work of its outstanding cast and its director, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento).

Led by Christian Bale, reprising his role from Batman Begins, and Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), the ensemble cast also includes Academy Award winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules), Gary Oldman (the Harry Potter films), Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Stranger than Fiction), and Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby).

In addition, critics and moviegoers alike applauded Nolan’s revolutionary use of IMAX cameras to film some of the most challenging action sequences ever created—a first for a major feature film.

Nolan directed The Dark Knight from a screenplay written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan produced the film, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers.

Collaborating with Nolan behind the scenes were two-time Oscar-nominated director of photography Wally Pfister (The Prestige, Batman Begins), Oscar-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley (The Prestige), Oscar-nominated editor Lee Smith (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) and Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (Topsy-Turvy). The music is by Oscar winner and multiple Oscar nominee Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Gladiator) and seven-time Oscar nominee James Newton Howard (Michael Clayton, The Fugitive), who previously collaborated on the score for Batman Begins.

Originally released on July 18th 2008, The Dark Knight broke virtually every possible box office record to become the top-grossing film of 2008 and the second-highest grossing movie (domestically) of all time.