With "The Avengers" now sitting pretty as the third-biggest money-making movie of all time, many started wondering — even back in April — if Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" would match Marvel's impressive tally (not that box office means anything in terms of movie quality, but we digress…) Well, it looks like it will. Almost.
The LA Times reports that according to various tracking numbers, which we won't break down here for fear of putting readers to sleep, "The Dark Knight Rises" is expected to open slightly below numbers for "The Avengers." FAILURE. CANCEL THE MOVIE. Well, not really. "The Dark Knight Rises" is expected to haul in over $150 million on its opening weekend ("The Dark Knight" did $158 million) and as the last movie made over $1 billion worldwide, it's probably safe to say Christopher Nolan's final swing of the bat (pun intended) will match it, if not exceed it. Basically, it's a long way of saying this thing is going to print a shitload of money. No worries, bro, Nolan's got this.
So let's get back to marketing the fuck out of this thing, right? Yet another TV spot has dropped (via JoBlo) that features some good bits of new footage, and lots of Batman and Catwoman conversation. But for this next part we have to add a little **spoiler warning**. Again, if you don't want to know anything, stop reading and don't cry about it later. Anyway, the folks over at HeyUGuys recently got a press release about the European premiere of the movie on July 18th, and among the confirmed guests? Cillian Murphy. The actor has been playing coy for about a year now regarding whether or not Scarecrow appears, and unless he's just going for the catering this is more evidence he's in the movie. Someone at WB is gonna have some explaining to do (although, if Nolan really did want to keep it a secret, putting him on the red carpet probably isn't a great idea).
The fire rises on July 20th.
Openings exceed their tracking numbers all the time
I don't get it, sequels always make more money than their predecessors so why would TDKR open smaller than TDK? I don't buy it. I say TDKR opens at least $160.
I'm glad Hathaway is adopting an equally silly Catwoman voice to match Bale's bat voice. "I gaaaaawt it."
Well, but… lots of people go to premieres, not just the people in the movie. Friends of the cast/producers/director are often invited. To take a recent example, Sophia Bush was at the premiere of Magic Mike. James Woods was at the premiere of Savages.
He had a small role in The Dark Knight, so it's possible he gets a similar treatment in the third movie. Or perhaps since Nolan and Murphy are good friends, Murphy is just their as a guest. The world will know in a matter of weeks…Viva El Bat!!!