Weekend Box Office: moment of silence

Out of respect for victims’ families, it was announced that Warner Bros. would be withholding the release of the box office numbers for The Dark Knight Rises; all other major studios followed suit and did not release their earnings either. Wow, Hollywood does have a heart.

That said, Warner Bros. plans to release final weekend numbers sometime today (they usually go out Sunday night). So, apparently 24 hours is Hollywood’s limit for playing nice.

Warner Bros. canceled its red-carpet premiere on Friday night in Paris for The Dark Knight Rises, as well as similar events scheduled this week in Tokyo and Mexico City. The studio also requested that a commercial they bought be pulled from airwaves; it featured a scene in which the villain terrorizes a football stadium to broadcast his violent agenda against the inhabitants of the fictional Gotham City. Oh boy…

“Out of respect for the victims and their families, Warner Bros. Pictures will not be reporting box office numbers for The Dark Knight Rises throughout the weekend. Box office numbers will be released on Monday.”

Director Christopher Nolan, released a statement that read, in part, “The movie theatre 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.”