The Dark Knight hits London

The stars of the latest Batman movie The Dark Knight congregated in London last night for its UK premiere.

It has just taken the US box office record fro previous holder Spider Man 3 by taking 55.34 million dollars (£77.7 million) during its opening weekend.

Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhall all attended the event in Leicester Square, but were almost upstaged when a 2.5 tonne six-wheeled Batmobile made its entrance.

Bale again dons the Batsuit in Christopher Nolan's second venture into Gotham City, while Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker has already garnered rave reviews.

Speaking at the New York premiere, co-star Michael Caine he would be "very surprised" if Ledger was not given a posthumous Oscar.

Christian Bale has also praised Ledger's role as his nemesis, saying: "He did an incredible job with The Joker ... I enjoyed watching him perform."

The Dark Knight is released in the UK on July 25th.

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