8. The Anticipation, Box office and Aftermath
There are a number of things to consider here, some have already been touched on a little. At the time of writing 3 full weeks have passed since TDKRs release in the USA, yet compared to a similar time back in 2008 after TDK was released, the remaining buzz feels somewhat underwhelming. This appears to be backed up by the box office too. Using the USA takings as an example, in its third week of release in the USA, TDK took around $64 million compared to TDKR which in its third week took $52, still a substantial amount, especially for a third week, yet considerably less. What is different this time around? In terms of anticipation, each film seemed very much on a par. Films of this scale are critic-proof, so any difference in quality can reasonably be ruled out. To again use Spider-Man as an example, the critically panned Spider-Man 3 took $890 million worldwide, whereas the critically well-received Spider-Man 2 took $783 million. Thats not to say that TDKR is Spider-Man 3, the critical response has been relatively similar to TDK (TDK holds a
92% fresh rating on rotten tomatoes compared to TDKRs
87%), but to rule that out as a reason. The difference could be down to re-watch value, depending on how much re-watch value equates to in box office bucks though its hard to believe there would be that much difference in terms of who a re-watch would appeal to and the difference in figures above. And the economy now is as depressed as it was then, so it cant be that. There are obviously significant and disastrous events surrounding the release of TDK and TDKR and although enough has been written about the each tragedy, their impact on the films release and box office could account for the difference in each films box office and TDKRs subsequent underwhelming aura. The fact that the events in Aurora took place in a cinema on the opening night of TDKR would no doubt have turned some people away from seeing the film in that environment. Not only this, but the event really puts whats important into perspective and the legacy of TDKR will always go hand in hand with that tragedy. Conversely, although Heath Ledgers death prior to TDK was equally tragic, the nature of it, the unfortunate, unintended publicity was like slowing down when passing an accident on the side of the road. People want to know what the fuss is about. It drew peoples attention. In a celebrity-obsessed world, people who wouldnt have otherwise given the film a second thought went to see it. These terrible events aside, despite both TDK and TDKR being released in Olympic years, TDKR was only open for a week before The Olympics started vying for its attention whereas TDK was open for almost a month before the Beijing Games began its impossible to gauge its impact but global events like this must not only make a difference to box office takings but help focus attentions elsewhere.