Batman Begins opened strong with a $15 million Wednesday.  While it wasn't in the range of mammoth hits like Spider-Man 2 or The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ($40 million and $34 million, respectively), it is in very respectable territory that bodes will for a strong opening weekend.  It's the 11th best Wednesday opening in history;.but it's the second-best June Wednesday ever, and Spider-Man 2, which holds the top June Wednesday, opened later in the month when more schools are out. 

 

Roughly 2/3 of the audience was male, reflecting the hard core fan base that saw the movie on its mid-week debut day. 

 

The movie continues to get great reviews (see 'Batman Begins Earns Early Raves'), and Warners execs told the Hollywood trades that the exit polls were excellent, so the word of mouth should be good.