Years from now, when 2008 is referenced in Hollywood, it will no doubt be referred to as the summer of the superfan. Most prominently, "The Dark Knight" stunned even its most ardent supporters with awards buzz and an astonishing box office take. What moviegoers told Hollywood is that if they can't wait to see a new flick, they are going to plan their lives around it when it finally opens. Whether it was "Sex and the City," "Indiana Jones," "Iron Man" or "Pineapple Express," online ticket sales and the demand for more midnight screenings proved film fanaticism still rules. Taking that into account, here is a look at some of the movie industry's big winners and losers over this superhero summer season.

Winner: "The Dark Knight"

Duh. Threatening to break the $600 million U.S. box office record of "Titanic" and becoming a pop culture phenomenon isn't enough. Now, the monster hit is setting its sights on Oscar. Of course, that's assuming the conjectured "curse" of appearing in the film (Heath Ledger's death, Christian Bale's assault allegations and Morgan Freeman's car wreck) still finds anyone in the cast standing by next March.

Loser: "The X-Files: I Want to Believe"

There are probably millions of people who would like to see a great "X-Files" movie. Shoot, the first big-screen incarnation had the appropriate scope, aliens and marketing campaign. Ten years later, nothing Fox did made "Believe" look anything more than a direct-to-DVD release. Audiences were smart and stayed away in droves.

Trivia game: Test your knowledge of award-winning films 

Winner: Will Smith

The $100 million man is quickly becoming the guaranteed $200 million man. Even with mixed reviews and so-so word of mouth, Smith's star power drove "Hancock" to his second monster hit in less than a year. There is no argument: He's truly the biggest star in the world. Now, imagine if he ran for president ...

Loser: Sony Pictures Classics

Many industry observers scratched their heads when this year's Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner "The Wackness" was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. Every distributor has its specialty, and marketing hip, edgy flicks to an under-40-year-old demographic certainly isn't SPC's. So, instead of becoming the summer sleeper hit it deserved to be, this great flick turned into one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Fox Searchlight, where were you when "The Wackness" needed you?

Winner: New Line Cinema

With "Sex and the City" proving everyone wrong (except this columnist) as one of the top 10 movies of the summer, and "Journey to the Center of the Earth," a picture many thought was a surefire bomb, turning out an impressive $80 million, New Line showed that it really was about to turn the corner. Unfortunately, three years of failures, capped off by "The Golden Compass," sank New Line six months earlier as it was gobbled up by parent company Warner Bros. And who took credit for the summer successes? Take a guess.

Loser: Eddie Murphy

After becoming a nationwide joke with "Norbit" (which still made an impressive $90 million), the last thing Murphy needed was a bomb. Unfortunately, that's exactly what he got with "Meet Dave." The marketing team at 20th Century Fox had been on a roll, chugging out great campaigns for bad movies ("Alvin and the Chipmunks," "The Happening," "Jumper"), but it lost its mojo trying to sell this one on Murphy's high jinks alone. And what's next for the former comedy superstar? Two more comedies that look sketchy at best: "A Thousand Words" and "NowhereLand."