By Zanub Saeed
Despite the tragedy that took place in Aurora, Colo. on Thursday evening, "The Dark Knight Rises" brought in an estimated $27 million in midnight sales, reported movie website ComingSoon.net.
With the $27 million the final installment of Christopher Nolan's "Batman" franchise made at midnight in 3,000 screenings domestically, it broke the 2012 midnight record that was previously held by Marvel's "The Avengers" back in May, which made $18 on its Thursday midnight screenings, reported ComingSoon.net.
The midnight gross is still well behind the all-time midnight record-holding, the 2011 release of the finale of the "Harry Potter" saga, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." Prior to that, the film that held the midnight record was the second film in Nolan's "Batman" saga, the Oscar-winning "The Dark Knight" in July 2008.
Due to the massacre that took place in Colorado on Thursday, insiders are unsure of how this will impact the overall gross of "The Dark Knight Rises" as moviegoers are worried and afraid of heading to the theater after 24-year-old James Holmes opened fire at an Aurora movie theater, killing 12 people and injuring 50.
Warner Bros. was set to have its Paris premiere for "The Dark Knight Rises" on Friday, with Nolan and stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, and Marion Cotillard, including a press conference at Paris' hotel Le Bristol, said MSNBC on Friday.
Warner Bros stated: "Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time."
