Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises has debuted at number one on the Australian box office, with a massive opening day gross of more than $3.5 million.

The film is the final in a trilogy, and stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Cane, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman.

The Dark Knight Rises was released in cinemas nationally on Thursday.