Dark Knight, the Batman movie starring Heath Ledger, did boffo box office: $158.3 million, according to Defamer. But this blockbuster will not just benefit Warner Brothers and DC Comics, which share parent Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) with BloggingStocks. There are at least six companies that will benefit from Dark Knight's success. According to Seeking Alpha, these companies include:

• Time Warner -- through its Warner Brothers and DC Comics subsidiaries are profiting most directly.
• Comcast Corporation (NYSE: CMCSA) partnered with Warner Bros. to offer "behind-the-scenes footage, trailers, and mini movies on demand"
• Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) collaborated in creating the Nokia6205 The Dark Knight Edition. Seeking Alpha reports that "This batphone targets superfans, with bat wallpaper, voice tones, screensavers, and the film's trailer pre-loaded."

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer can't get no love. His famous "monkey boy" performance is crazy-popular among those who thrive on poking fun at (and re-mixing) Ballmer's sweaty antics. He's being marginalized as Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie are groomed to replace Gates (and, we imagine, Ballmer as well) -- and reporters and analysts are jostling to get past him and talk to Ozzie, who everyone seems to adore.

Now the worst possible judgment, from Business 2.0 Magazine. He just doesn't matter. And what's more: he matters less than anyone in business. Ouch.

In conjunction with the mag's "50 Who Matter Now" list (featuring Ray Ozzie and competitive leaders Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and worst of all for Ballmer's ego, Bill Gates himself), Ballmer headlines the "10 People Who Don't Matter" segment. "Let's face it: The head of the world's biggest software company is a lame duck," the judgment begins.

A lame duck who decides what happens with billions of investors' -- of your -- cash. Somehow, that's not very comforting.