I’ve become infatuated with the grisly grimace of Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

I find myself going back to the see the film more and more, as if I were Cecelia and the Joker, Tom Baxter. (That’s for the Woody Allen fans.)

Apparently, I’m not the only one.

For the fourth week in a row, the second installment of Christopher Nolan’s re-visioning of the Batman film franchise took the No. 1 spot at the box office.

This week “The Dark Knight” became the third-highest grossing film of all time, upstaging “Shrek 2” for the No. 3 spot. (Yes, that’s right “Shrek 2.”)

“The Dark Knight” blazed past the stoner action-comedy “Pineapple Express.” Last week, the Caped Crusader buried Hollywood’s latest attempt to reanimate the corpse of a dead franchise, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” on its opening weekend.

According to MediaByNumbers.com, “The Dark Knight” has grossed more than $441 million, and broke a record by reaching $400 million in 18 days. Before that, the fastest movie to $400 million was “Shrek 2” — in 43 days.

“The Dark Knight’s” success is due to more than just geeky fan boys forsaking society and their savings accounts to go to see it 147 times in theater.

The film is a stand-apart good example of cinema. It is exciting but thoughtful. Terrifying and entertaining.

Still, the question is not whether “The Dark Knight” is a good film. The question is whether it will go all the way, beating “Titanic,” the all-time highest grossing film in the United States, which was No. 1 for three and a half months straight.

Analysts say this is doubtful. Warner Bros. expects the film to shore up a little more than $520 million at the box office.

But that still would give Batman enough to squeeze into the No. 2 spot, dethroning “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.” By the time this article is printed, the Dark Knight may have already surpassed this goal.

But wait! Holy Oscar murmurs, Batman! Many people, bloggers and critics alike, are discussing the possibilities of an Oscar for the late Heath Ledger. If the Oscar rumors continue, the Dark Knight may have a second or third wind when all the troglodytes and film history professors come out to see what all the fuss is about. This could be the extra push the Dark Knight needs to gaze watchfully over all of Hollywood from the No. 1 spot.

This weekend, the Caped Crusader faces his toughest foe yet in the action comedy (they’re a dime-a-dozen these days) “Tropic Thunder.” Can the Dark Knight stay at No. 1 for the fifth consecutive week?

Will Christian Bale and Heath Ledger defeat the trifecta of Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr.? Will George Lucas cry for his mommy when Batman snatches his silver medal away mercilessly?

Find out next week, same Bat time. Same Bat channel.