Still, despite many drawbacks, Christopher Nolan's trilogy-ending The Dark Knight Rises still got off to a monster start, earning the third-biggest opening off all-time with $160.9 million, for a per-theater average of a killer $36,532 from 11,800 screens at 4,404 theaters, the second-widest release in history behind The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (breaking numbers down further, it had a $1,153 average per showtime). While beating The Dark Knight's $158.4 million gross, as hard as this may be to believe, it was lower than what everyone was expecting out of the finale. This is likely due to the affect the Colorado shooting tragedy had on moviegoers, in which some of them might have changed their minds after security was increased in several locations. The films' opening weekend trailed The Avengers and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II, but those films were boosted by 3D, so the films' attendance was higher than the latter. Altogether, Dark Knight Rises posted the second-biggest superhero movie debut ever, behind Avengers, and the highest-ever debut for a non-3D title.
The main question at this point is, how well will it hold in the weeks ahead? Critical reception was positive, and audiences awarded the film an "A" CinemaScore, which should help it. There is no competition next weekend, but Total Recall and The Bourne Legacy will likely steal some audience away from it in its' third and fourth weekends. So right now, its' tough to call if Dark Knight Rises will match its' predecessor stateside, but if it can catch up with audiences that missed it this weekend, then it does have a shot.
Overseas, the Batman finale got off to a sensational start, earning a strong $88 million from just 13 territories, bringing its' worldwide total to over $250 million already. The movie debuts in more than 40 more countries next weekend, so look for it to take the international box office by storm next weekend.
The impending threat of The Dark Knight Rises plus the Colorado shooting tragedy ultimately destroyed the holdovers this weekend. Studios are hoping that audiences will catch up with the movies next weekend.
Following its' modest start last weekend, Ice Age: Continental Drift plummeted 56% to $20.4 million in a distant second. The animated fourquel has picked up a somewhat disappointing $88.8 million in 10 days, and is trailing its' predecessors by a wide margin. With recent trajectories in mind, it may only end up with around $150 million domestically, a similar drop-off to what 2011's animated sequels suffered. However, if compared to a $100 million budget, it will still make a nice profit Plus, the movie continues to soar internationally, with already over $500 million worldwide in just three weeks.
Taking an even worse plunge was The Amazing Spider-Man, which cascaded 69% in its' third weekend to $10.9 million, for a $228.6 million gross in 20 days. A harsh drop was expected in the face of Dark Knight, but it appears audience interest has passed for the latest web-slinger film. The superhero reboot now looks like it will earn $260 million at best stateside, a bit disappointing when you compare the previous three movies, which all earned $330+ million domestically. But again, its' all about budgeting, and at $220 million, plus already over $600 million worldwide, its' still enough green that a sequel is a no-brainer. (In truth, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has already been set for May 2, 2014)
It seemed like it was holding extremely well up to this point, but Ted's drop this weekend seemed no different from anyone else. Coming in fourth place, the R-rated comedy dropped 55% to $10.1 million, for a 24-day total of a nice $180.4 million, and is running in line with Madagascar 3 through the same point. Unfortunately, while $200 million is guaranteed, the film will likely take a hit next weekend from The Watch. Still though, its' officially the "sleeper hit" of the summer.
Taking one of the lighter declines of the Top 10, Brave was down 46% to fifth place, and $6 million for its' fifth weekend. Pixar's latest became the third animated title of 2012 to reach the $200 million milestone last weekend and has earned $208.8 million in one month of release. A $235 million final tally would put Brave at the half-way point on Pixar's list in terms of grosses. Magic Mike also had one of the lighter declines, down 51% in its' fourth weekend to sixth place and $4.3 million, for a $102 million tally in 24 days, and becoming the 15th movie of 2012 to reach the $100 million milestone (Dark Knight Rises was 16th as it was further away from the mark on Friday, and reached it the same day). Look for a final gross in the $110 million range.
After holding well last weekend, Savages was corrected, plunging 64% to $3.4 million, for a $40 million gross in 17 days, and will likely finish just past its' $45 million budget stateside. Madea's Witness Protection was no different, down 60% in its' fourth weekend to $2.3 million, for a $60.3 million gross in 24 days. Limited releases rounded out the Top 10. Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom was down 51% to $1.8 million, for a $36.1 million gross in eight weeks of release, and Woody Allen's To Rome with Love jumped back into the Top 10 with a list-best 43% dip to $1.4 million, and an $11.1 million gross in one month of release.
Not much news on the international front. We already know The Dark Knight Rises was on top with $88 million. Ice Age: Continental Drift was second with $56 million, and The Amazing Spider-Man was third with $28.3 million.
