The film hit that mark in just over six weeks, half the time it took "Titanic," which reached $500 million in a little more than three months. "Titanic," the biggest modern blockbuster, remains No. 1 on the domestic charts with $600.8 million.

Despite its brisk pace, "The Dark Knight" is not expected to approach the total for "Titanic," which put up smaller numbers week after week but lingered at the top of the box office for months.

Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros., said he expects "The Dark Knight" to finish at about $530 million, though it could reach $550 million if business persists as strongly as it has.

"I keep raising the number because it just keeps holding better than expected," Fellman said.

"The Dark Knight" will climb to about $505 million by Labor Day, the conclusion of Hollywood's busy summer season. That amounts to nearly one-eighth of Hollywood's overall summer revenue of $4.2 billion, which edges the previous summer record of $4.18 billion set last year, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Factoring in today's higher admission prices, "The Dark Knight" would need to take in about $900 million to match the number of tickets sold by "Titanic."

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)—It was as if a stadium full of more than 105,000 people was suddenly empty.

An eerie silence descended on Ohio Stadium when Ohio State’s Heisman Trophy prospect Chris “Beanie” Wells went down with a foot injury in the third quarter of the second-ranked Buckeyes’ 43-0 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday.

All of a sudden, what seemed like a nice tuneup for the mammoth showdown in two weeks against No. 3 Southern California seemed secondary.

“First and foremost, you really can’t replace Beanie,” wide receiver Brian Robiskie said.

The star tailback was hurt in the third quarter after taking a handoff from Todd Boeckman on first and goal at the Youngstown State 2. His feet slipped underneath him as he planted to make a cut, with the ball rolling free as he hit the turf.

   I've never  understood why they went back to TURF from GRASS. Turf tears up your body and is very hard on it.

“I may have rolled it or planted wrong a play or two before,” Wells said through Ohio State spokeswoman Shelly Poe. “Something just didn’t feel right. Then I think I felt a pop. But the X-rays are OK, so we’ll see how it feels in a day or two.”

Before the injury, Wells ran for 111 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown run. Boeckman tossed two touchdown passes and freshman quarterback phenom Terrelle Pryor looked solid in his college debut.

Wells is on most Heisman short lists, behind 2007 winner Tim Tebow of Florida. Wells rushed for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago as a sophomore despite several nagging injuries and said earlier this week that this is the healthiest he has been going into a season in years.

If Wells is out, it would be a a huge blow for the Buckeyes, who host Ohio next week and play at No. 3 Southern California the following week.

MARION - River Valley Local Schools is celebrating a series of firsts as it becomes the first Marion County school district to be designated as "excellent" by the Ohio Department of Education.

"Truly, this is a testament to your commitment, the quality learning experiences we offer, and an outcome that is worthy of the state's highest recognition," Superintendent Tom Shade stated in a letter sent to the district's employees.

joejonasrox

The Hatfields and the McCoys. The Yankees and the Red Sox. Jennifer and Angelina. When it comes to a long-running feud, people choose their side and they defend it to the end. For comic book fanatics, it's always been the divide between the two major publishers -- Marvel and DC Comics. Devoted readers on both sides have argued for years over which was better: DC, with it's stable of classic heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman, or Marvel, which has always prided itself on more flawed characters like Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk.

Leave it to Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. to stir up the hornet's nest again. After his movie opened huge in early May, it looked like Marvel's steel-plated superhero was destined to be the box office champ of the summer. Until, of course, The Dark Knight broke records with its gargantuan July debut, making DC's Caped Crusader the season's richest crimefighter.

In an interview with moviehole.net, Robert Downey Jr. shared his thoughts on the complex story of "The Dark Knight," and he left no doubt where his comic book loyalties lie:

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Take The Disney Movie Trivia Test at HelloQuizzy

test. i've been having issues posting.. using "wrong" commands i guess? lol

BEIJING (AP)—The International Olympic Committee said Friday it had asked gymnastics officials to investigate whether the Chinese women’s gymnastics team that won the gold medal had underage athletes, saying “more information has come to light.”

“We’ve asked the gymnastics federation to look into it further,” IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. “If there is a question mark and we have a concern, which we do, we ask the governing body of any sport to look into it.”

The IOC, which also asked the Chinese gymnastics federation to investigate, would not give details on what new information prompted it to act now, three days after the gymnastics competition ended.

Messages for the International Gymnastics Federation were not immediately returned.

Chinese coach Lu Shanzhen told The Associated Press they gave the FIG new documents on Thursday to try to remove the doubts about He Kexin’s age, including an old passport, a residency card and her current ID card.

He said all these documents were issued by various departments of the Chinese government and that he felt there was nothing more that they could do to put peoples’ minds at ease.

Earlier this month, the AP found registration lists previously posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China that showed both He and Yang were too young to compete. He was born Jan. 1, 1994, according to the 2005, 2006 and 2007 registration lists. Yang was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists; in the 2007 registration list, however, her birthday has changed to Aug. 26, 1992.

If the FIG would find evidence supporting the questions that the gymnasts are underage, it could affect four of China’s medals. In addition to the team gold and He’s gold on bars, Yang won bronzes in the all-around and uneven bars.

“We played fair at this Olympic Games,” Liukin’s father and coach, Valeri, said after they arrived back in the United States. “… If somebody cheated, shame on them.”

BEIJING (AP)—Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record by winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds Wednesday night, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 gold medals at an Olympics.

Bolt is the first man ever to break the world marks in both sprints at an Olympics. Not even Lewis or Jesse Owens managed that.

Showing what he can do when he runs at full speed all the way through the finish—something he hadn’t done yet in the Beijing Games—Bolt eclipsed the old record of 19.32 seconds set by Michael Johnson in Atlanta in 1996.

Bolt was an astonishing 0.52 seconds ahead of silver medalist Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles.

Shawn Crawford of the United States, the defending Olympic champion, was third after teammate Wallace Spearmon was disqualified for running out his lane. The U.S. protested the ruling.

The performance marked Bolt as one of the breakthrough stars of these Summer Games, coming on the heels of his victory in the 100 Saturday night. He bettered his own world record in that race by winning in 9.69 seconds—despite slowing down over the final 20 meters to showboat.

When the three actors learned that Ledger's will had not been updated to include his daughter, the generous trio decided to donate all the money they earned from the film to little Matilda!

It's good to know that there are a few nice guys in Hollywood.

I've edited this post, because I found this really sweet article from here that talks about Heath, at the time he died in January. It made me cry and I wanted to share it.

“I kept saying, ‘finally’ a lot,” Johnson laughed. “I made it. I finally won a gold medal.

I can’t stop smiling. I’m so excited.”

BEIJING – For a long time, elements of the Chinese government itself thought women’s gymnast He Kexin was born Jan. 1, 1994, which would make her 14 and too young to compete in these Summer Olympics.

Whether it was repeated mentions in the government-controlled media – including a new one uncovered Friday by the Associated Press – or on official gymnastic meet registration forms and websites, He was “this little girl” and a “new star.”

As recently as December 2007, in provincial gymnastics meets and news reports that covered it, she was a 13-year-old prodigy, too young for the 16-year-old Olympic age limit for gymnastics.

Then, suddenly, she wasn’t.

The Chinese either got it wrong in 2007 or wrong in 2008. Considering 2000 Chinese bronze medalist Yang Yun later admitted on state television she was 14 that year, the reported ages of He Kexin and at least two of her teammates have aroused suspicion in nearly everyone except the powers that be – the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

full link to story here, yahoo sports