THE BOX OFFICE REPORT: JULY 22

Despite a pledge by Warner Bros. that the Box Office tallies from this past weekend would not come out with respect to the families affected by the tragedy in Aurora, the New York Times posted some very brief information regarding the performance of the blockbuster film The Dark Knight Rises.

The articles says: “The money at stake was too big for moviedom to ignore, and studio officials with access to box-office numbers provided them to [the] Times. Those officials, in private, spent the weekend seemingly marveling at the ability of The Dark Knight Rises to maintain much of its momentum in the wake of the killings … the film took in about $162 million in North America over the weekend … That huge No. 1 total fell below pre-release expectations of ticket sales totaling about $190 million, an indication that some moviegoers were either not in the mood to watch a violent comic book caper or worried about theater safety … Still, the highly anticipated Dark Knight Rises managed to score one of the best opening weekends at the box office.”

That is all that we will say about the box office performance of the film (until next weekend) but I will leave you with a very heartfelt statement from TDKR director and fanboy god, Christopher Nolan:

“Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. 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.”