The Dark Knight Rises
recorded strong ticket
sales in its opening weekend, but well below forecasts given by many in Hollywood, as some moviegoers appeared to have stayed away after a shooting rampage at a midnight showing of the film on Friday.
The film grossed an estimated $162 million in showings through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters, according to studio estimates from people with knowledge of the data.
That was lower than the $173 million that had been projected on Saturday based on Friday receipts.
“The Dark Knight Rises” was one of the most-anticipated films of the year before a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, early Friday, killing 12 and wounding 58 more.
Before the shooting, box office forecasters had predicted sales in a range of $170 million to $198 million from Friday through Sunday, just shy of the record $207 million set by superhero movie “The Avengers” in May.
Official figures were not released by movie studios for the first time box office watchers could remember, as the companies withheld weekend results in deference for the shooting victims. Full results are expected on Monday.
A representative for 20th Century Fox, which released “Ice Age,” was not available for comment, and a spokesman for Sony Pictures, which is behind “Spider-Man,” declined to comment.
“Dark Knight Rises” is the third and final film in a popular Batman series starring Christian Bale as the crime-fighting hero and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Warner Bros. spent $250 million to produce it, plus tens of millions on marketing.
“The Dark Knight” took in $158 million domestically over its debut weekend in July 2008, a record at the time.
It went on to ring up sales of more than $1 billion around the world. (Agencies)
