While some may believe Warner Bros and Hollywood are callous for reporting box office numbers, it was bound to happen with this film. The DARK KNIGHT RISES was set to be one of this biggest films of the year. Violence occurred when it opened at a midnight massacre when James Holmes opened fire on the crowd in Colorado. But the show went on, opening in 4,000+ screens around the United States.
In the end, the final movie in the Christopher Nolan trilogy bagged a weekend sum of $161.1 million gross. Depending on final numbers by Monday, DARK KNIGHT RISES may be the biggest 2d North American opening of all time--it has also surpassed 2008's DARK KNIGHT, which grossed a weekend opening total of $158 million.
Truly wonder how much the shooting in Colorado may have hurt or helped the numbers? Did people stay away from further screenings? Or instead thumb their noses at Holmes and go anyway, leaving the terror to the big screen and not to the audience? No way we'll ever know those answers.
