As Oscar season approaches, the buzz behind this summer’s box-office conqueror “The Dark Knight” has begun to feel the scrutiny of definitely being considered as a contender this year, particularly in light of Ledger’s standout performance. The smash hit sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale as the avenging masked crimefighter of Gotham City, Batman, and the late Heath Ledger as the maniacal and sadistic clown-faced criminal the Joker, opened July 18th to rave reviews. However, as Bale himself said before the film came out, “There are no prospects for that […] It’s the genre thing again, but hey, look, I’m very happy with what I did and what I set out to do. But it’s not award-worthy. It’s not the kind of thing that gets it. Listen, Heath’s performance is extraordinary, and I’m quite happy to say he steals the show. He does, absolutely. He’s just phenomenal in it.”

As the Oscars approach this February, The Dark Knight has finally begun to wind down from a half-billion dollar run at the box office, which owes much to Ledger’s much-lauded performance of the face-painted classic Batman villain. Ledger himself died this past January in New York, of an accidental prescription overdose, but has still been rumored to be the recipient of a posthumous nomination and even win. However CNN.com is reporting that besides for technical awards and perhaps a nomination for Bale, The Dark Knight’s chances for wins are slim. Still, the critical responses and massive box office draw, which has drawn comparisons to the film Titanic, over a decade ago, which went on to both box-office gold and Oscar gold as well.

Stay tuned to Toxic Shock TV for more Batman and Oscar news.

By Costa Koutsoutis (Source: Newsarama)