'The Dark Knight Rises' tracking is huge

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ tracking is huge

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The stars came out as the long-anticipated “The Dark Knight Rises” finally emerged and had its Gotham, er, New York, premiere. Christopher Nolan, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt pose together at AMC Lincoln Square Theater.

(Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Batman/Bruce Wayne himself, actor Christian Bale, along with Sibi Blazic, make their way toward the premiere. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

3/17

Anne Hathaway dons the skin-tight suit of Selina Kyle in the latest Batman installment. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Tom Hardy plays the villainous Bane in the film. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays John Blake. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

6/17

Alexandra Edenborough and Gary Oldman attend “The Dark Knight Rises” premiere. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

7/17

Marion Cotillard, who plays Miranda Tate in the film, attends “The Dark Knight Rises” New York Premiere. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

8/17

Actress Juno Temple, who has the role of Holly Robinson in the film, arrives for the premiere. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Composer Hans Zimmer shows up for “The Dark Knight Rises” premiere. (Justin Lane / EPA)

10/17

Along with Christopher Nolan, writer David Goyer came up with the story for the film. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

11/17

Hines Ward, who has a small role in the film, and Jaden Ward arrive. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

12/17

Singer Chris Daughtry attends “The Dark Knight Rises” premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater in new York. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Russell Simmons and Miss Universe Leila Lopes attend the premiere. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Actress Hailee Steinfeld arrives for the film’s world premiere. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Cillian Murphy, who played the Scarecrow in “The Dark Knight,” arrives for the premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises.” (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Actress Michelle Trachtenberg attends “The Dark Knight Rises” premiere. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Actress Zoe Kravitz poses for photographers at the “The Dark Knight Rises” New York premiere. (Justin Lane / EPA)

By Ben Fritz and Amy Kaufman

July 17, 2012 11:01 AM PT

Several days before it debuts, “The Dark Knight Rises” is generating more audience excitement than the three-highest grossing movies of the last 12 months.

Pre-release research shows director Christopher Nolan’s final Batman movie is exceeding mega-hits “The Avengers,” “The Hunger Games” and the final “Harry Potter” film in the critical “first choice” category that studios use to gauge moviegoers’ interest in their upcoming releases.

As a result, “The Dark Knight Rises” is expected to generate more than $180 million in ticket sales this weekend, according to people who have seen the data but are not authorized to speak publicly. It even has a chance, these people said, of beating the $207-million opening weekend record set by “The Avengers” in May.

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The only complication is that “The Dark Knight Rises” is not 3-D, meaning it won’t benefit from the higher ticket prices that “Avengers” collected. While “Dark Knight” is playing on IMAX screens, there are fewer of them than the number of 3-D screens that played “The Avengers,” giving the Batman movie fewer theaters at which it can charge a premium.

“Dark Knight Rises” is certain to have the biggest opening ever for a non 3-D movie, a record currently held by Nolan’s second Batman movie, “The Dark Knight,” which bowed with $158.4 million in 2008. That film ultimately collected $1 billion worldwide, of which $533 million came from the U.S. and Canada.

“The Dark Knight Rises” is among the all-time highest scoring movies in “tracking” just days before it launches. The percentage of potential moviegoers who list the picture as their first choice among upcoming releases is six points higher than that of “The Avengers” on the Monday before it opened, and seven points higher than “Hunger Games.”

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Interest in the film is much higher among men than women, although the scores for females are still far greater than most successful movies reach before hitting theaters.

Financed and released by Warner Bros., with 25% of the budget covered by Legendary Pictures, “The Dark Knight Rises” cost between $250 million and $300 million to produce. However tax credits brought that total closer to $230 million, said people familiar with the movie’s economics but not authorized to discuss them publicly.

ALSO:

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ finishes strong, early reviews say

‘The Dark Knight Rises’: Christopher Nolan’s masked ambitions

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ trailer: Bat flight, Cat fights, Gotham falls

Follow Ben Fritz on Twitter @benfritz

Follow Amy Kaufman on Twitter @AmyKinLA