Despite Tragedy, “Dark Knight Rises” Has Superheroic Box Office Debut

Warner Bros. Pictures/TM and © DC Comics(NEW YORK) — After the shooting rampage at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado last Friday, Warner Bros. and the other major studios decided to put the usual box office horse race on hold for a day out of respect for the tragedy.

The numbers were released Monday, however, and as expected, The Dark Knight Rises topped the field, earning $160.9 million over the weekend.  The finish was lower than pre-tragedy estimates, but still ranks as the biggest 2D opening ever, and the third-biggest opening of all time, behind the $207.4 million earned by The Avengers, and the $169.2 million earned by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 — and both of those films had the benefit of the more expensive 3D ticket prices.  

The Dark Knight Rises, the final chapter in director Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, also earned more on its opening weekend than its 2008 predecessor, The Dark Knight.

Here are the top 10 movies from Friday through Sunday, with estimated ticket sales:  

1. The Dark Knight Rises, $160,887,295
2. Ice Age: Continental Drift, $20,416,978
3. The Amazing Spider-Man, $10,887,111
4. Ted, $10,011,310
5. Brave, $6,024,987
6. Magic Mike, $4,291,432
7. Savages, $3,398,880
8. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection, $2,253,074
9. Moonrise Kingdom, $1,831,471
10. To Rome With Love, $1,420,891

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio