<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $35 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $411.3 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Batman is a 1989 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and produced by Jon Peters and Peter Guber, based on the DC Comics character of the same name . It is the first installment of Warner Bros .' initial Batman film series . The film stars Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, alongside Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough and Jack Palance . The film takes place early in the title character's war on crime, and depicts a battle with his nemesis the Joker . </P> <P> After Burton was hired as director in 1986, Steve Englehart and Julie Hickson wrote film treatments before Sam Hamm wrote the first screenplay . Batman was not greenlit until after the success of Burton's Beetlejuice (1988). Numerous A-list actors were considered for the role of Batman before Keaton was cast . Keaton's casting caused a controversy since, by 1988, he had become typecast as a comedic actor and many observers doubted he could portray a serious role . Nicholson accepted the role of the Joker under strict conditions that dictated a high salary, a portion of the box office profits and his shooting schedule . </P>

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