What started out as a tiny gathering of comic book enthusiasts has, for better or worse, transformed into one of the biggest and best events for studios to show off their upcoming movies. Sure, there are still plenty of things to do at the San Diego Comic Con if you're into comics - from panels with comic book superstars to booths loaded with collectibles for sale - but Hollywood's presence has changed the complexion of the event.

Over 125,000 people - many of whom were dressed as their favorite comic book characters (the people-watching at the Con is unparalleled) - attended last year's Comic Con, filling exhibit halls to capacity. Tickets to this year's event which runs July 24-27 were available only online and unfortunately for those who didn't plan ahead, the event is now totally sold out. But if you didn't act quickly enough to snap up a ticket, don't despair. Most of the trailers and special video clips premiering at the show will be online shortly after Comic Con's over. There will be no shortage of news as even major TV entertainment shows (though late to the game) are covering the Con. And, of course, there will be extensive coverage of all the big movies right here at About.com in the days following the event (look for interviews with the casts of Watchmen, Terminator Salvation, Land of the Lost, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and other celebs over the course of the next week).

So how important is Comic Con to filmmakers? Studios have come to accept the fact that the reaction of Con audiences can actuallly make or break a movie. In 2006, Zack Snyder brought his 300 cast and clips to show off, effectively launching one of the most intense and effective word-of-mouth campaigns of the past decade, helping to catapult 300's March 2007 opening into the record books. Jon Favreau, a Comic Con veteran, knew what Con audiences wanted and delivered it by previewing special footage from Iron Man prior to that film's release. Conversely, not debuting footage from a big budget studio production can do heavy damage to a film's box office tally... With that in mind, Warner Bros, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment, and Disney are all big players this year, with Warner Bros even going as far as to spread out their goodies over all four days.

Thursday's Highlights:

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Max Payne

Twilight

Race to Witch Mountain

RocknRolla

Ninja Assassin

Punisher: War Zone

Friday's Highlights:

Watchmen

The Wolfman

The Spirit

Saturday's Highlights:

Terminator Salvation

Bolt and Up

Death Race

Land of the Lost

Drag Me to Hell

Pineapple Express

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Quarantine

Sunday's Highlights

Hamlet 2

Friday the 13th

25/8

The Unborn

_{(Photo of Malin Akerman in Watchmen © Warner Bros)}

$158 million - an incredible number and an incredible film. Some Hollywood blockbusters don't deserve to be in the record books, but The Dark Knight certainly does. Filmmaker Christopher Nolan and his cast created something extraordinarily special.

From sold-out midnight screenings to online agencies selling The Dark Knight tickets at a rate of 15 per second, Nolan's second Batman movie entered the record books in a big way. Even Warner Bros Studios didn't expect audiences to fall quite this hard for their creepy PG-13 rated, 2 1/2 hour epic. Now the big question is: Will Nolan, Christian Bale and the rest of the Batman crew reunite to finish off what's obviously set up to be a trilogy? The Dark Knight's Record Breaking Weekend
_{(Photo © Warner Bros Pictures)}


Lots of Brand New Photos

Bottle Shock Photos - Alan Rickman/Chris Pine

Brideshead Revisited Photos - Matthew Goode/Ben Whishaw

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Photos - Daniel Radcliffe/Rupert Grint

High School Musical 3 Photos - Zac Efron/Vanessa Hudgens

Land of the Lost Photos - Will Ferrell/Anna Friel

Ninja Assassin Photos - Rain/Naomie Harris

RocknRolla Photos - Gerard Butler/Idris Elba

Terminator Salvation Photo - Christian Bale

Twilight Photos - Kristen Stewart/Robert Pattinson

Watchmen Photos - Jeffrey Dean Morgan/Patrick Wilson

The Wolfman Photos - Benicio Del Toro