Claim: Christian Bale portrayed a person.

Batman Begins is a 2005 British-American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman , co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale , Michael Caine , Liam Neeson , Katie Holmes , Gary Oldman , Cillian Murphy , Tom Wilkinson , Rutger Hauer , Ken Watanabe , and Morgan Freeman . The film reboots the Batman film series , telling the origin story of the title character -LRB- Bale -RRB- , from his alter ego Bruce Wayne 's initial fear of bats , the death of his parents , his journey to become Batman , and his fight to stop Ra 's al Ghul -LRB- Neeson -RRB- and the Scarecrow -LRB- Murphy -RRB- from plunging Gotham City into chaos . Comic book storylines such as The Man Who Falls , Batman : Year One , and Batman : The Long Halloween served as inspiration .   After a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Batman on screen following the critical failure and box office disappointment of Batman & Robin -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , Nolan and David S. Goyer began to work on the film in early 2003 and aimed for a darker and more realistic tone , with humanity and realism being the basis of the film . The goal was to get the audience to care for both Batman and Bruce Wayne . The film , which was primarily shot in Iceland and Chicago , relied on traditional stunts and miniatures , while computer-generated imagery was used minimally .   Batman Begins opened on June 15 , 2005 , in the United States and Canada in 3,858 theaters . It grossed over $ 48 million in its opening weekend in North America , eventually grossing over $ 374 million worldwide . The film received positive reviews and is considered by many to be one of the best superhero films of the 2000s . The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography and three BAFTA awards . It is followed by The Dark Knight -LRB- 2008 -RRB- and The Dark Knight Rises -LRB- 2012 -RRB- in a continual story-arc , which has later been referred to as The Dark Knight Trilogy .