In the nine weeks leading up to its release, “The Dark Knight” had almost twice as much television advertising (2,401 units) as “Batman Begins” (1,287 units), according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

The strong advertising push for “Dark Knight” may have contributed to the film’s record-breaking opening weekend.  “Dark Knight” earned $158.4 million last weekend, while “Batman Begins” took in just $46.9 million in its first weekend.

Nielsen’s data included TV advertising units for approximately nine weeks leading up to the release of both films: May 9, 2008 – July 6, 2008 (”The Dark Knight”) and April 3, 2005 – June 3, 2005 (”Batman Begins”).

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