Movie PictureWarner Bros. is hoping to get some Oscar attention for The Dark Knight and is planning to rerelease its blockbuster Batman sequel in January at the height of Academy Awards voting season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warners domestic distribution president Dan Fellman acknowledged ongoing talks with Imax executives about the prospect of restoring the Christian Bale starrer to some number of giant-screen venues in January. It's uncertain if The Dark Knight also will reappear in conventional venues at that point.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film's huge commercial and critical success has spurred talk of possible Oscar nominations for its director, producers and cast -- most specifically Bale's co-star, Health Ledger, for the late actor's edgy performance as the Joker.

To date, The Dark Knight has rung up about $512 million domestically and $440 million internationally, including more than $55 million in Imax grosses. A pre-Oscars re-release would help assure its topping $1 billion worldwide, and any traction with nominations or wins would likely mean even greater boxoffice.

But with the title set to hit DVD in December, it's now apparent anyone hoping the Batman sequel would soar to Titanic heights will be disappointed. The Dark Knight already ranks as the second-highest-grossing movie ever, after Titanic's phenomenal $1.84 billion -- a mix of $600.8 million in domestic boxoffice and $1.24 billion in foreign coin registered in 1997 and 1998.

The Dark Knight was released July 18th, 2008 and stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Monique Gabriela Curnen. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan.