The Dark Knight Rises withstood watered down competition at the North American box office this Friday to easily take first place with $18 million. Batman trampled what was considered to be its strongest competitor, The Watch, which sputtered out the gate and stands no chance of reaching $20 million in its opening weekend.
Unfortunately for the box office as a whole, the Olympics and the Colorado tragedy negatively impacted ticket receipts across the country. This weekend is pacing to come in 25 percent or more lower than the same weekend a year ago as moviegoers are finding multiple reasons to stay at home.
In its second Friday, The Dark Knight Rises starring Christian Bale pulled in a hair over $18 million to bring its domestic box office tally to $243 million. Counting international ticket sales, The Dark Knight Rises is entering the final leg of its march to half-a-billion dollars with $419.2 million. This weekend should come in somewhere between $50 and $60 million.
The Watch brought in the big comedic guns with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade, but that mattered little for the R-rated comedy involving a neighborhood watch group who tangles with alien invaders. Handicapped with a “C+” CinemaScore and venomous reactions from critics just prior to its release, The Watch only made $4.5 million Friday and will be lucky to top $15 million through Sunday.
The other newcomer was Step Up Revolution which benefited from the inclusion of 3D to sneak by the watch with $4.9 million its opening day. The “B+” CinemaScore should help Step Up Revolution stay ahead of The Watch through Saturday and Sunday to take second place.
Comparing The Dark Knight to The Dark Knight Rises, it’s easy to see how the Colorado tragedy and Olympics are keeping moviegoers at home. Through its first eight days of release, The Dark Knight had made $262 million. The Dark Knight Rises, which would be expected to be ahead of its predecessor since its the concluding chapter in a series, stands at $243 million.
Stop back Sunday afternoon to see if The Dark Knight Rises rose above $55 million in its second weekend of release.
