After a day’s delay, the box office numbers are in. The Dark Knight Rises set a new record for a 2-D movie opening, pulling in $160.9 million its first weekend in theaters. The film also set a new record for 3-D opening, only falling behind The Avengers ($207 million) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($169 million).
“Clearly, The Dark Knight Rises was on everyone’s minds,” Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for Hollywood.com, told the Associated Press. “I think the American public showed they were not going to be sacred away from the movie theater by the actions of a lunatic.”
Dergarabedian is of course referring to the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people were killed during a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, and dozens more were injured.
Second place goes to Ice Age: Continental Drift with earnings of $20.4 million. Another superhero film, The Amazing Spider-Man, earned $10.8 million over the weekend. Ted and Brave round out the list of top five performers with respective earnings of $10 and $6 million.
Male stripper flick Magic Mike is still going strong its fourth week in theaters. The film starring Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer pulled in $4.3 million over the weekend, bringing its total gross earnings to $102 million. Savages and Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection rank seventh and eighth, earning $2.3 and $1.8 million respectively.
Last, but not least, is Moonrise Kingdom and To Rome with Love which round out the top ten with earnings of $1.8 and $1.4 million.
This Friday will bring the release of Step Up Revolution and The Watch, starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade. How will the films fare at the box office? Check back next week to find out.
Source: Box Office Mojo
Photo: The Dark Knight Rises