‘The Dark Knight Rises’ earns $202m at US box office

DHAKA: The Dark Knight Rises was on track to earn US$160 million, which would be a record for 2-D films, over the weekend following a mass shooting at a Colorado screening of the Batman film.

Citing box office insiders, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and other media outlets reported that the latest Batman sequel earned US$160 to US$162 million, says The Straits Times.

That amount would best the US$158.4 million debut of ‘The Dark Knight’ in 2008 and give ‘Dark Knight Rises’ the third-highest domestic weekend opening ever after the 3-D films ‘The Avengers’ with US$207.4 million and ‘Harry Potter’ and the ‘Deathly Hallows - Part 2’ with US$169.2 million.

The Hollywood Reporter also cited box office sources who said ‘Dark Knight Rises’ earned US$70 million from nine of the 17 countries where it debuted over the weekend, including the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea and Spain.

BDST: 1446 HRS, JUL 24, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor