FORT WORTH -- Moviegoers expressed mixed emotions Saturday while waiting to view The Dark Knight Rises at a Fort Worth theater.
Most agreed that the massacre in Aurora, Colo., in which a gunman killed 12 people and wounded scores more, cast a dark cloud on what many anticipated would be a highlight of summer.Robert Brinkley of Fort Worth bought advance tickets for the 6:45 p.m. sold-out showing Saturday at the West 7th Street Movie Tavern.After a long discussion, he and his girlfriend decided to go, he said."We almost feel bad coming," Brinkley said. "But we're here."Brinkley, who said he grew up watching different versions of Batman, said the Colorado killings put a damper on the experience."It's a horrible tragedy," he said. "Instead of this being a whimsical action movie, it takes the fun and sensationalism out of it."Box office analysts predicted that The Dark Knight Rises probably generated $75 million to $80 million in U.S. ticket sales its first day.The sales, including tickets bought before the screening in Aurora, could mean the movie will take in about $170 million for the weekend, said Jeff Bock, an analyst for Exhibitor Relations Co.Warner Bros., owned by Time Warner, and other Hollywood studios aren't reporting official sales figures, with some issuing statements citing sensitivity to the victims.Sally and Robyn Dellamura of Fort Worth bought the last two available tickets for the Saturday evening showing.Both are Christian Bale fans and said they couldn't wait to see the movie before learning about the tragedy."I was surprised they had tickets. I actually thought it would stop showing for a while," Robyn Dellamura said.Sally Dellamura said what happened in Colorado would be creeping into her head during the movie."I know it happened 45 minutes in," she said. "I will wonder if that exact time was picked."Robyn Dellamura said the Batman movie series already had a strong element of psychological aberration."There's always a mentally broken person that goes off the rail," she said. "It didn't deter us, but I honestly hate violence."For Robyn Dellamura, the Colorado shooting brought back memories of a Fort Worth church shooting 13 years ago."I live a few blocks from Wedgwood Baptist Church," she said. "This reminds me of that tragedy."On Sept. 15, 1999, Larry Gene Ashbrook walked into Wedgwood Baptist Church during a youth rally, set off a pipe bomb and shot 14 people, killing seven. Then he killed himself."I ran into the school [across the street]. I had friends wandering around screaming for their kids. That was really a horrible thing," she said. "One minute you are just sitting there innocently; the next you are gone."Bailey Langdon of Fort Worth bought tickets for herself and her brother Riley on the night of the opening. Like many other ticket holders, she debated whether to go."I am more sad than scared," she said. "It will definitely run through our minds during the movie. ... It reminds me that life is fleeting, you just never know what's going to happen."This report includes material from Bloomberg News.Susan McFarland, 817-390-7684Twitter: @susanmcfarland1