Weekend Box-Office: July 20-22, 2012

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The Dark Knight Rises indeed.

Box office figures may not seem all that important in the wake of the horrifying events in Colorado last Friday morning, but there is still certain to be plenty of curiosity about the performance of one of the most anticipated movies in years.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES collected an estimated $161 million on its opening weekend. As you might imagine considering the circumstances, that’s lower than was previously expected. Official results won’t be available until Monday, but this still breaks the 2D-only opening-weekend record and nudges the trilogy-ender past THE DARK KNIGHT’s $158.4M debut in 2008, and leaves the $207.4M opening of Marvel’s THE AVENGERS firmly at the top.

Meanwhile, there’s not a lot of activity on the rest of the chart… which is unsurprising as everyone knew Batman’s return to the multiplex would essentially take the wind out of the sails of all other movies in theaters. ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT caught a chill with $20.2M and a nearly 60% drop from last week, perhaps demonstrating some audience CG-exhaustion after the recent BRAVE and MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED (both of which crossed the $200 million mark).

And while DC Comics’ nocturnal crimefighter reigned, Marvel’s wall-crawler is quickly running out of web — THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN grabbed another $10.7M, just a furball higher than Seth MacFarlane’s raunchy bear TED. And by the end of next weekend, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will undoubtedly crack Spidey’s current $228.5 domestic total.

After that, MAGIC MIKE made a sweaty shimmy past the $100 million mark, Wes Anderson’s MOONRISE KINGDOM seems to have set up camp in the #9 slot, Woody Allen pokes his head onto the chart again with TO ROME WITH LOVE, and Katy Perry and her documentary PART OF ME disappear from view.

Next week brings Ben Stiller and company in the R-rated alien invasion comedy THE WATCH, along with the fourth flick in the street-dancing franchise, STEP UP REVOLUTION.

For some thoughts on how to help in the aftermath of the Colorado tragedy, you can head HERE or HERE.