The Dark Knight returns to theaters on January 23rd

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

One of the most celebrated and successful films of this or any year, 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, culminating with the film being named on more than 150 critics’ lists of the year’s top-ten films.

In addition, the filmmakers behind The Dark Knight have been honored by their peers, with Christopher Nolan receiving a Directors Guild of America Award nomination; producers Nolan, Charles Roven and Emma Thomas garnering a Producers Guild of America Award nomination; and a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay going to Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer. Cast member Heath Ledger received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, and has also won a Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Award and numerous other critics groups’ awards for Best Supporting Actor.

The Dark Knight also won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Action Film, and swept the People’s Choice Awards in five categories, including Favorite Movie and Favorite Cast. The film stars Christian Bale, reprising his role from Batman Begins, Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), 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).

Christopher 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.