(GettyImages.com)

There’s bad news for fans of Christian Bale‘s take on Batman.

The actor’s third appearance as the comic book hero, in 2012′s The Dark Knight Rises, will almost certainly be his last.

Bale revealed his intentions to hang up the cape in comments this week to a newspaper in the Philippines.

“I wrapped a few days ago, so that will be the last time I’m taking that cowl off,” said the star of director Christopher Nolan‘s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

He continued, “I believe that the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it’s all done. Everything’s finished. It’s me and Chris – that will be the end of that Batman era.”

Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney each played Batman on the big screen before Bale.

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(GettyImages.com)

Lady Gaga is officially the globe’s most wanted woman.

The performer is the Most Searched-For Female on the Internet, according to the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records, knocking off reigning champ Sarah Palin.

Meanwhile, the late Michael Jackson was named the Most Searched-For Male.

Guinness also awarded The Twilight Saga: New Moon the title of Highest Opening-Day Gross. It earned $72.7 million on its first day, beating previous record holder The Dark Knight.

Avatar holds twelve records in the new edition of World Records, while Harry Potter was named the Highest Earning Film Series.

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(Warner Bros.)

The Joker will not be back to battle Batman.

Christopher Nolan has confirmed that he will not use a new actor to play the villain Heath Ledger dazzlingly redefined in The Dark Knight.

“For me, Heath was the definitive Joker,” says Nolan. “It wouldn’t feel appropriate to readdress that character.”

Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose in January 2008. That summer, The Dark Knight became one of the most successful movies in history, and Ledger received a posthumous Academy Award for his performance.

The third Batman film in the new series is scheduled for a July 20, 2012 release.

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(Paramount)

UPDATE #2 – 5/8/10

Box office figures are taking shape, and Iron Man 2 is now expected to top the weekend with roughly $130 million.

Friday estimates for the comic book blockbuster have been dialed down (slightly) to $52 million.

If the current projections hold, Iron Man 2 would have the fifth-biggest opening weekend in history, behind:

The Dark Knight ($158.4 million)

Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 million)

Twilight Saga: New Moon ($142.8 million)

Pirates of the Caribbean 3 ($135.6 million)

Again, the current weekend box office is still just estimated.

Gossip Cop will have updates…

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UPDATE – 5/8/10

Early projections give Iron Man 2 a $55 million Friday opening, including $7.5 million from Thursday midnight shows.

The blockbuster is also closing in on $200 million overseas after a week of release in many territories.

These are still just estimates; more accurate numbers will emerge later today and over the course of the weekend.

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ORIGINAL POST – 5/6/10

Iron Man 2 doesn’t open until midnight, but it’s already setting records.

The comic book sequel starring Robert Downey, Jr. will bow in 4,380 locations, topping the previous high of 4,366 held by The Dark Knight.

And early predictions have the movie possibly earning as much as $155 to $160 million over the weekend, in line with The Dark Knight‘s opening.

Iron Man 2, which opened overseas last week, has already raked in $121 million from 53 foreign markets.

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(20th Century Fox)

The victories keep piling up for James Cameron and Avatar.

The director’s sci-fi epic is poised to win a sixth consecutive weekend at the box office, according to estimates, and its cumulative domestic grosses will overtake The Dark Knight for the second-best total in North American history.

A slate of new movies including the supernatural Legion, kids pic The Tooth Fairy, and Harrison Ford vehicle Extraordinary Measures failed to knock Avatar from its throne. Projections see roughly $35 million over the weekend for the reigning champ, nearly twice that of second-place Legion.

Again, these are just estimates for now, but it looks like Avatar has stayed on top. We’ll update with final numbers when available…

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(Warner Bros.)

The new trailer for “Inception,” the highly anticipated film from “The Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan, has just come online. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, whose rumored weight loss (or was it gain?) for the role led to one of Gossip Cop‘s favorite lines of the year.

Watch the video here:

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(Summit)

Vampires and werewolves are Hollywood’s new kings.

Sources tell Gossip Cop “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” has set a (non-summer) weekend box office record, taking in an astounding $140.7 million since it opened nationwide at midnight on Thursday.

The film’s record-smashing first night paved the way for a three-day haul that “eclipses” all previous weekend windfalls (except summer’s “The Dark Knight” and “Spider-Man 3″).

The estimated international box office take for the three days is $258.8 million.

OTHER MILESTONES & NOTES:

- $140.7 million playing at 4,024 theaters for a per theater average of $34,965.

- Best single opening day ever surpassing THE DARK KNIGHT ($67.2 million)

- Biggest 2 day total to reach $100 + million ($115.9 million to surpass THE DARK KNIGHT’s $114.8 million)

- Biggest November opening in history surpassing HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE ($102.7 million)

- 3^rd biggest opening weekend ever surpassing PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: DEAD MANS CHEST ($135.6 million)

- Best gross for midnight shows ever at $26.3 million surpassing HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE ($22.2 million)

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(Summit)

Sources tell Gossip Cop Summit Entertainment is set to announce that “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” broke the record for biggest midnight opening last night, beating “The Dark Knight” and the top “Harry Potter” franchise performer.

WE’VE JUST RECEIVED THIS FROM SUMMIT…

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON has set a new record for opening midnight shows with an estimated gross of $26.270 million playing at 3,514 theaters for a per theater average of $7,476. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON passes HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE ($22.2 million) to take the number one spot.*  Following POTTER is DARK KNIGHT ($18.5 million).

In addition to THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, last night Summit re-issued TWILIGHT in theaters.  The film grossed $1.3 million playing at 2,057 theaters for a per theater average of $631.  The re-issue of Twilight came in just outside the top 15 for the week this is notable especially considering that all came from just 9 PM Thursday night shows.

* Records based on data from industry leader Paul Dergarabedian of BoxOffice.com

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