Reports are in that The Dark Knight Rises opened with an estimated $160m worldwide at the weekend, setting a box office record for the highest ever take for a 2D movie.
Christopher Nolan‘s film is, however, expected to fail to match the predictions of several experts; just falling short of the $175 million mark many had mooted, following the tragedy of the Aurora shootings last Friday.
Although Warner Bros. and several other major Hollywood film studios refused to release the The Dark Knight Rises’ box office numbers out of respect for the families of the Aurora shooting victims, trade magazines Variety and the Hollywood Reporter both reported the $160m figure.
Should the findings be confirmed, TDKR – the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy - will officially best and overtake The Dark Knight’s take of $158 million (the previous 2D record).
Still expected to pull in massive audiences, the tragic events in Aurora have already had an indelible effect on screenings of the film.
Several American and Canadian cinemas have tightened security as a result of James Holmes’ deadly attack, with police officers patrolling multiplexes across the US. The AMC chain was among those that banned masks and costumes from TDKR screenings, while squad cars have been seen outside cinemas in Youngstown in Ohio, Portland in Oregon and the Chicago suburbs.
According to Variety, a man is said to have smuggled a gun into an auditorium out of concern for his own safety.
Police officers have also emphasised that cars have been stationed outside sites as a precaution. Buffalo police commissioner, Daniel Derenda told the city’s WIVB-TV, “We have no known threat, but for public safety, public perception, we want people to know it’s safe to come to the theatres.”
Christian Bale, the Dark Knight himself, offered condolences to the victims’ families, saying in a statement, “Words cannot express the horror that I feel. I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them.”
The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan added, “Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families.”
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. have decided to reshoot scenes from its upcoming period crime drama, Gangster Squad, following the Aurora shootings. A scene in the film features gunmen firing at cinema-goers, prompting the studio to act quickly, averting any comparisons to last Friday’s tragedy.
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