“The Dark Knight Rises,” the third and last Warner Bros. film with Christian Bale as Batman, may generate as much as $198 million in its opening weekend to become the second-biggest U.S. debut of all time.
The forecasts from industry researchers, ranging from a low of $170 million, would mark the best Batman opening ever, while falling short of the record $207.4 million posted in May by “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s superhero film.
“‘The Avengers’ was the first out of the gate,” said Ben Carlson, co-founder of the research firm Fizziology. “Now it’s the heart of the movie season and there’s a big film released every week.”
“The Dark Knight Rises” also follows the July 3 opening of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” creating more competition for superhero fans, according to Carlson, who said the picture is generating less buzz on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The movie, the last Batman film from series director Christopher Nolan, will probably become one of studio parent Time Warner Inc. (TWX)’s two biggest releases this year.
“The Dark Knight Rises,” co-starring Tom Hardy as the villain Bane, cost about $250 million to make, according to the Internet Movie Database. The film accounted for 85 percent of yesterday’s advance sales at Fandango.com, the ticket site owned by Comcast Corp., according to Harry Medved, a spokesman.
It’s one of the few tentpole pictures not in 3-D this year. Nolan has said he doesn’t like the technology.
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Sooooooooo who's already seen the movie?? I had to go to the bathroom twice and seriously regretted sitting in the middle. :<