Back in December we ran an article covering some of The Dark Knight's promotional activities, and not to toot my own horn or anything, but I posted what I thought was an extremely witty and observant comment: "I'm just glad they're doing something to raise awareness of this small film that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks."

Admit it, that's probably the funniest joke you've ever read. Because The Dark Knight isn't a small film at all, you see! It's a huge film that already has a great deal of public awareness! See how that's super funny?

Anyway, though we all had a good laugh at how funny I am, I also brought up a puzzling aspect of the Hollywood machinery. Warner Bros. is spending untold millions to promote The Dark Knight, and expending a lot of creative effort, too, with viral sites and games and events and so forth -- and for what? To promote a film that everyone was already going to see anyway. It's a highly anticipated sequel to a hugely popular film, it's gotten terrific buzz from those who have seen it, and it has the unfortunate-but-attention-getting Heath Ledger connection. You'd think the WB promotional team could relax a bit and let the film sell itself -- or, better yet, use that money to promote some lower-profile films that do need the help. So why didn't they?

Bearing in mind that attempts to grasp the logic of a Hollywood studio usually end in frustration, we can generally trace the thought process back to one thing: money. My best guess is that they figure spending an extra 10 or 20 million dollars on promotion and advertising could mean the difference between a $300 million domestic gross and a $400 million domestic gross. In other words, yes, it's going to be a huge hit anyway, even with the normal amount of advertising -- but if they can spend a little more to make it a HUGE huge hit, even better.

Moreover, the type of advertising they've done with Dark Knight is different from the norm. Much of it is interactive, requiring participants to solve riddles, look for clues, go on scavenger hunts, translate ancient texts, perform ritual sacrifices, etc. I'm not personally interested in that kind of interactivity -- I prefer the passive form of advertising, where they show me trailers and TV commercials and in return I do nothing -- but a lot of people really get into it. And that's great for the studio, because interactivity makes people feel connected to the film, which makes them even more likely to see it on opening day. They're also more likely to get their friends involved ("Hey, look at this cool viral site for Dark Knight!"). Regular advertising (the kind I like) doesn't produce nearly as much loyalty and enthusiasm.

I'd say the marketing plan is paying off. Already theaters are reporting several days' worth of sold-out showings, with some adding 6 a.m. screenings to keep up with the demand. All of this stuff feeds on itself. The film generates excitement, which leads to blog posts about how the film is generating excitement, which causes readers to think, "Wow, this film is really generating excitement! Perhaps I should start getting excited, too," which generates, yes, more excitement. It also generates concerns that maybe we're getting too excited, but that probably just generates more excitement.

With a reported budget of around $180 million, plus heaven knows how much for advertising, The Dark Knight will need to make at least $400 million to turn a profit. (Movie theaters generally keep about half of the box office take.) Will all the extra money they've spent prove to be a wise investment? What do you think about their methods? Why do you think they've put so much effort into it when the film would have done just fine anyway?