MUMBAI: There is no beating The Dark Knight… Though Sony‘s sci-fi action epic Total Recall opened up collecting $26 million in the weekend, it was well behind the $36.4 million earned by The Dark Knight Rises in its third weekend.
Also a new release, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days also opened below expectations as it collected $14.7 million. The film, that cost $22 million to make, is already on solid ground financially.
The Aurora theater shooting and the 2012 Summer Olympics continue to mute movie going. Domestic ticket sales plummeted 25 per cent from the same weekend last year while research firm NRG continues to warn studios that 20 per cent of the movie-going audience is skittish after the shooting. Around 16 per cent viewers have reported that they would be watching the Olympics this weekend.
Heading into the weekend, Sony projected a domestic opening between the $25 to $30 million range for its film, although many believed that it would gross a little higher and would possibly jump the $30 million mark. The remake cost at least $125 million.
Total Recall, directed by Len Wiseman and starring Colin Farrell in the role made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is counting on a strong international run to boost its bottom line. Incidentally, it opened in 10 Asian markets this weekend earning $6.2 million.