2012′s Top Movie in the UK: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises beats The Avengers in the UK

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises collected an estimated $16 million this past weekend at the international box office. TDKR‘s current cume stands at $535.2 million. The third and final installment in Nolan’s Batman franchise has reached $959.17 million worldwide.

The most notable bit of news from The Dark Knight Rises‘ international front is the United Kingdom. With $82.1 million, TDKR has surpassed Joss Whedon / Chris Hemsworth / Chris Evans’ The Avengers to become the UK’s biggest box-office hit of 2012 and, as per Box Office Mojo (and not taking inflation into account), the "highest-grossing superhero movie ever" in the country.

The Dark Knight Rises is opening this week in China and Italy, its last two major territories. With the aforementioned worldwide cume of $959.17 million, TDKR should have no trouble passing the $1 billion milestone at the global box office.

The Dark Knight Rises cast

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne aka Batman, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane, Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Matthew Modine, and Tom Conti.

Christopher Nolan co-wrote the TDKR screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, who has stated that the film’s basic premise was inspired by Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities.

“2012′s Top Movie in the UK: The Dark Knight Rises" (Christian Bale as Batman) image: Warner Bros.