'Dark Knight Rises' Sets Non-3D Opening Weekend Box Office Record

While Warner Bros. and the other studios have said they won't release weekend box office numbers until Monday, Deadline is reporting that The Dark Knight Rises will open with a $161.1 million weekend gross. While this obviously falls short of The Avengers' opening weekend record of $207.44 million, The Dark Knight Rises does set a new opening weekend record for non-3D movies, topping The Dark Knight's $158.41. As I've mentioned before, the advent of 3D movies has ruined box office records, and this right here is a prime example.

After opening with a an estimated $76.1 million on Friday, The Dark Knight Rises' Saturday and Sunday numbers are estimated to be much lower. The film brought in $30.60 million from midnights shows alone, which probably cleared a lot of the pent-up audience demand. And while it may seem insensitive to look at the effect of the Aurora, Colo., shootings on The Dark Knight Rises' opening weekend, it would be unrealistic to not think the tragedy kept some people away from movie theaters this weekend.