Imax 'may show Batman all night'

Christian Bale (top) returns as Batman with Heath Ledger (front) as The Joker

Managers at an Imax cinema in London have said they were "seriously considering" screening the new Batman film "24 hours a day" to meet demand.

Ticket sales for The Dark Knight: The Imax Experience had been so great, organisers said, that extra shows had been put on in the middle of the night.

Fans will be able to watch the film at 0230 BST on its first weekend at the BFI Imax cinema near Waterloo station.

The Dark Knight will be shown there for four weeks from 24 July.

Different format

"Advance booking has exceeded even our wildest expectations already," said Justin Johnson, the head of operations at the British Film Institute.

"By keeping The Dark Knight playing throughout the night, we can ensure that everyone gets a chance to see the film at the start of its run.

"We are seriously considering playing the film 24 hours a day in order to meet demand."

The Dark Knight features six sequences shot with Imax cameras and marks the first time that a major feature film has ever been partially shot using the Imax format.

Unlike traditional 35mm film which usually appears in "letterbox" format, scenes shot with Imax cameras on 15/70mm film will expand vertically to fill the entire screen.

The 485-seater theatre has the largest cinema screen in the UK, at more than 20m tall and more than 26m wide.

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