Box office totals held back in wake of massacre

THE ULTIMATE SACRILEGE: Warner Bros. announced on Friday evening that it wouldn’t report opening weekend earnings for The Dark Knight Rises out of respect for the victims of the Aurora, CO shootings and their families. Thereafter, the other studios decided to follow suit. On Sunday, various media outlets predicted grosses of at least $160 million for the final installment in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Official box office totals will be released today. Nolan offered an eloquent commentary on the incomprehensible event in a statement on Friday. “Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community,” said the filmmaker. “I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theater is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families.” (7/23a)