Grief may have weighed heavily on the minds of Hollywood executives on Friday afterthe massacre at a midnight screening ofThe Dark Knight Rises, but so must have money. After all, the latestBatmansequels release this weekend was supposed to be one of the biggest movie openings of all time, and tens (maybe hundreds) of millions of dollars were at stake.
Before the Friday morning tragedy,The Dark Knight Riseshad been on track to rival the record-breaking $207 million opening ofThe Avengersearlier this summer. Midnight screenings (which took place before the news of the Colorado shooting broke) yieldedan estimated $30.6 million, according to distributor Warner Bros., a figure second only to the $43.5 million earned at midnight screenings of the finalHarry Pottermovie last summer. Still, wouldnt escapist moviegoers prefer to see something other than the film the victims were watching, a picture whose grim tone and relentless violence would serve only as further reminders of the real-life horror?
Warner Bros. has already taken some steps to avoid insensitive reminders. On Friday morning,the studio yanked the trailers for its upcoming releaseGangster Squadwhich contains a sequence in which gunmen shoot up a cinema from theaters (including some where it preceded screenings ofThe Dark Knight Rises) and from the Internet. The studio also canceled a premiere for TheDark Knight Risesin Paris, a move that underscores the fact that the films potentially massive overseas take is also at risk.
In America, many theater chains showing the movie were preparing to beef up security with additional personnel. Of course, the extra cost to exhibitors and the added hassle for viewers may dampen the weekend box office as well.
Families will be much more cautious about bringing their brood to the theaters this weekend, Jeff Bock,senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co, tells Rolling Stone.The reality of what happened in Aurora cannot be overlooked or placated. The violence inherent toThe Dark Knight Risesmay just be too much for people looking for simple escapism this weekend, considering the reality of what happened. And for potential moviegoers that were wary about seeing it in the first place, they may just skip it altogether.
Gitesh Pandya, editor ofBox Office Guru, believes the killings wont have much effect on the films opening take.Its an awful and senseless tragedy and the opening weekend may see a minor impact, Pandya says. Those now resisting the film and those even more curious may end up canceling each other out.
Beyondits implications for opening weekend, however, the Colorado rampage sent quite a shockwave down Hollywoods backlots, Bock says. He predicts that the tragedy would force the MPAA ratings board to be less lenient about violence. (The Dark Knight Risesis rated PG-13, not R.) This shooting may have far-reaching ramifications as far as the MPAA is concerned, he says. It will certainly fuel conservatives fire about violence in movies, now that they have a horrific incident to fall back on.
Not that stricter ratings will stop Hollywood from making violent entertainment. Darker action films and comic movies will continue to get made, Pandya says.They are not at fault here.
The immediate impact is still hard to gauge. Late Friday, Warner Bros. issued astatementsaying itwouldnt release box office estimatesuntil Monday, out of respect for the Aurora victims. Nonetheless, Deadlineestimated that the film had earned $77 million on Friday(including the tally from midnight screenings and presold tickets), putting it on track for a weekend total of about $170 million. That would fall well short of theAvengersmilestone but would still set a record for a 2D movie. (Based on estimates from rival studios, Varietyis putting Fridays earnings at $75 million.)
At least one theater figured out how to encourage people to seeThe Dark Knight Riseswithout appearing insensitive. That was Hollywoods ArcLight Cinema, which put up a collection box for donations to the victims families.
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