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Yeah...no. Here's my final words about The Dark Knight Rises before it opens on Friday.
PART 1: THE PUNDITS' VERDICT
As of Wednesday Afternoon, The Dark Knight Rises has a score of 80/100 on Metacritic with 25 reviews and 87% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 8.3/10 based on nearly 100 reviews. Perfectly in line with Nolan's past works, it's also his 7th consecutive film to score a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, Following was the only film to not recieve this rank, and only because it didn't have enough reviews.
However, there were still some negative reviews, and knowing the internet, the harsher critics felt the wrath of fanboys everywhere. It got so bad, that RT actually had to close the comment section of all TDKR reviews! Much like the fact that most critics would like it, this wasn't really that surprising either. Films of this nature are breeding grounds for flame wars.
RT Consensus: The Dark Knight Rises is an ambitious, thoughtful, and potent action film that concludes Christopher Nolan's franchise in spectacular fashion, even if it doesn't quite meet the high standard set by its predecessor.
Of course it was going to be difficult for the film to live up to its predecessor, ranked highly among the modern greats, but the majority agreed that it wasn't going to be a bad film. These glowing praises are not unsurprising, but it's nice to know that we're all in for a treat starting on Friday. (Well, more like Thursday night.)
PART 2: DC VS. MARVEL
Earlier this year, The Avengers wowed everyone in the box office world by pulling off a nearly unprecedented opening weekend over $200m. Many predictors were quick on the draw to claim that Batman would perform the same feat two months later. Can it?
Some people thought that while The Avengers had a low 3D share, the dollar difference still played a big role. Nolan is sticking to his anti-3D beliefs (something I greatly appreciate) and only giving this IMAX and D-BOX boosts. The Avengers couldn't have added more than a small share of 3D royalties, as only 40% of tickets were bought for the extra dimension. According to BOM, that's roughly 10m tickets of the ow. Basically, The Avengers would have made at least 175m even without 3D, and given the massive hype surrounding TDKR, it should be able to easily pass that number.
Also, the IMAX factor is going to be pimped out for this film even more, with 300+ locations and nearly an hour of this film shot in IMAX. It will certainly pressure a lot of people to pay extra to see it in the larger format. Nolan has always excelled at making his films shine in IMAX, and this film could be his finest proof.
Overall, it's going to be a close battle between the two films. Both had powerhouse buzz, stellar reviews, hyped fans, and effective marketing campaigns. I can imagine more than a 90m gap between the two.
PART 3: MIDNIGHT MADNESS
The makerting team has made it clear that this is the big event of the summer. Ever since the trailer showed with Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows 2, as well as The Avengers, people are well aware of this film's landing. Given the fact that it's also being depicted as Batman's biggest challenge to date, as well as the final installment to Christopher Nolan's batman trilogy, this is not a film to take lightly. Given this marketing, it's clear that people will want to see this the minute it opens.
With films like Harry Potter, Twilight, & The Hunger Games, the midnight premiere market is growing frequently. Even The Avengers managed in the high teens on a day when school was still in session, slightly more than what The Dark Knight managed. Given the major pull of event films to midnight premieres, The Dark Knight rises could get past 30m, an unprecedented feat for a superhero film.
So far, only 3 films have 'eclipsed' that mark: Eclipse and Breaking Dawn of the Twilight Saga, and the current record holder, Deathly Hallows 2, with a staggering 43.5m. Of course, TDKR will struggle to approach such a high number, but 30m is attainable. However, it will probably take up a higher share of the daily gross on Friday if that is the case. The Dark Knight's midnight were about ~27% of its friday gross. I don't see the finale going any lower.
PART 4: SOME PERSONAL THOUGHTS
4 years ago, I saw The Dark Knight in a crowded movie theater, and this was a 6:10 show on an August Tuesday. Huge applause at the end, big gasps at the right spots, and so on-it was one of my favorite movie-going experiences of all time. I'm now looking forward to The Dark Knight Rises in an even greater respect.
Like so many of us, avoiding spoilers on the internet was a difficult task. I never read a single review, only checking if the critic liked it or not. So far, I'm clean, and once I see it, I look forward to seeing what I had to hide myself from when people discussed this movie.
I don't know what's going to happen at the very end, but all I can hope for is that Christopher Nolan did the right thing to do with the franchise. I have little doubt that he's going to let us down, so let's sit back, relax, and watch Batman's finest (?) hour unfold on the big screen.
PART 5: FINAL PREDICTIONS
Midnight: $31m
Friday: $89m (58m without midnights)
Saturday: $56m (-37.1% / -3.4%)
Sunday: $50m (-10.7%)
Opening Weekend: $195m ($44,278 PTA from 4,404 theaters.)
Domestic Total: $545m (2.79x from opening)
Overseas Gross: $705m
Worldwide Gross: $1.25b (43.6% from Domestic Gross)
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