Posted on 07/20/2012 12:59:42 PM PDT by Jyotishi
High box office expectations for The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in Warner Bros' Batman franchise, were clouded on Friday by a shooting at a Colorado midnight screening of the film which killed 12 people.
The incident, in which a masked gunman opened fire on moviegoers, including children, brings a tragic conclusion to one of Hollywood's most-enduring franchises, as Warner Bros bids to find a new movie franchise capable of matching Batman's box office success.
The Time Warner-owned studio has been Hollywood's King of Franchises for years. Over the last decade, it generated worldwide ticket sales of $12 billion from its Lord of the Rings, Batman, and Harry Potter films.
Eight of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time come from one of those franchises, according to website Box Office Mojo. The Dark Knight Rises will be the last of the Batman series that began in 2005, director Christopher Nolan said.
Harry Potter, Warner Bros.'s biggest franchise, ended last summer with the largest of eight films, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2," that generated $1.3 billion worldwide.
Franchise films are especially important to studios, which amplify their revenue by using the big-budget movies to create theme park rides, sell toys and spawn TV shows.
Warner Bros is counting on a pair of Hobbit movies to rekindle the magic of Lord of the Rings, the first installment of which hits theaters in December.
A reboot of the Superman franchise is also scheduled for next summer - Man of Steel, made by Dark Knight producer, Legendary Pictures. Nolan, one of Hollywood's hottest directors, is a producer on that film.
The films could pave the way for Warner to unite Batman, Superman and other characters from its DC Comics stable in a Justice League movie, said Gitesh Pandya, editor of website Box Office Guru.
That would follow the strategy that brought staggering success to Walt Disney Co with The Avengers, a movie that brought together a handful of Marvel superheroes and generated nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide sales.
One problem for Warner Bros is that not every DC Comics character has been a phenomenal hit, Pandya said. Last summer's Green Lantern didn't work very well, he said, grossing $219.8 million. Some industry watchers said the movie cost $200 million to produce, though Warner has disputed that figure. Studios receive about half of box office sales.
The 2006 Superman Returns also disappointed, Pandya said.
The aim is to create another series like Batman, which won critical acclaim, fan devotion and $1.4 billion in ticket sales for Batman Begins in 2005 and 2008's The Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight grabbed $158 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend in 2008, a record at the time, and still the highest debut for a movie that wasn't boosted by higher-priced 3D tickets.
Opening weekend ticket sales for Dark Knight Rises, which cost $250 million to produce, were expected to at least match the last Batman film, according to box office forecasters, and possibily reach as high as $198 million, just shy of the $207 million record set by Avengers in May, some industry analysts say.
But that was before a midnight showing Friday in Colorado erupted in violence, when a masked gunman in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, opened fire on an unsuspecting audience, killing 12 people and wounding dozens of others.
Beyond superheroes and the Hobbit, Warner also intends to bring The Hangover 3 to theaters next summer, the next installment in the adult comedy series that has grossed $1 billion. "We are well on the road to quite a number of franchises," said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros. "We are in great shape."
Good riddance! They took something that was fun for kids and turned it into a dark, violent spectacle. I am so tired of Hollywood pushing the limits on what they will show in a movie and get away with marketing it to kids.
Don’t worry about Hollywood. They are having a great year with many movies doing really well. They did not think that Ted would be the hit it is....EVERYONE is going to Ted and loving it. Made so much money. Magic Mike has made WAY MORE then they thought for only 7 million made. Hollywood is having one of their better years....No pity from me. Although Batman should be a movie we want to see make it. I am not sure why you find joy in the possibility of loss of funds for a relatively conservative movie. You must have some sort of agenda.
I was going to wait a few days, but now I will try to see it tonight. This was one psycho who decided to piggyback off the attention of this film in order to gain an equal amount of infamy. Giving him that noteriety is a choice for us, and I choose not to give it to him. Hopefully justice will be swift and he will be soon forgotten.
Meanwhile the filmmakers worked for a couple of years on this and by most accounts made a good film.
I will mourn the dead, have empathy for the injured, will support the film.
Kids today!
Kids today? Hell you guys were flocking to Porkeys....lol. Come on every generation has a unique type of movie that old foggies don’t like.
Well, let's see how Green Lantern does in his next outing now that he's been outed as a flamer.
***with the first movie in 1943. (a serial)***
That 1943 serial was re-released as a movie back in 1966 to grab up bucks before the TV Batman movie got released.
Hopefully batman franchise will lay low for the next decade or two. Can’t do a better job than Bale/Nolan’s version of Batman.
I’m seriously conidering not going to the movie just to stick it to the Hollywierd bean counters.
Ok, not that I’d ever waste money on a Batman movie and I haven’t been to a movie other than a HP matinee for years.
Don't even get me started on "Stripes" or "Airplane."
Been downhill ever since.
The first and hopefully the last.
Must be nice to sit around and dream this crap up. Do they mention ONE fact that sales are indeed down?
Of course, they also have to draw these grandiose conclusions.
Yeah, I guess I do. I'm anti-Hollywood. They are anathema to Conservatism. You - on the other hand are in support of the crap they peddle. Just as you seem to be in support of the pro-gay groups who want to silence Chick-Fil-A.
“Hollywood Obama Supporters Fear Latest Batman Movie Gore Fest Will Impede Flow Of Donations.”
Your a complete imbacil. Such a pity for someone of this site. I went to Check-Fil-A yesterday and spent 52 dollars for my family. When did you???? You are always complaining but absolutely zero action. You are completely an empty shell.
So true. I can’t even imagine 20 years from now what they will show...guarantee nudity and cursing will be on all TV channels. Already on cable but the 3 major broadcasting channels have to abide by some government rules but after awhile the government will lift the bands.
> Oh those poor bean counters in Hollywood. Right now they
> are estimating how many millions of dollars this will
> cost them as opening weekend ticket revenues are going to
> crash....
This movie is already making a killing.
Got it. Didn’t see in the original report that I read how he got in or that people were in costume. Thanks for clearing that up.
> I am seriously considering going to the movie tonight so the > terrorist will not have won.
Please wear a helmet and bulletproof vest. There are more sickos out there. Or wait for steaming, DVD, etc.
or this movie was going to stink (see rotten tomatoes pulling the review section) and this now makes it an accounting blessing.
I saw that serial a little over 45 years ago while in college. The series was set in WWI and the villain was a totally stereotyped "evil Jap," right down to the Coke bottle bottom glasses. The funniest part of the film was he'd periodically catch Batman and be gloating over the gruesome way he was going to kill Batman while the audience loudly yelled its advice, "Just SHOOT him."
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