By: Scott Johnson on October 13, 2012
At the summer box office, The Avengers proved to be the champion in the showdown with The Dark Knight Rises. The Avengers took first place at the U.S. box office with $623 million, while The Dark Knight Rises finished second with $445 million.
Of course, many Batman fans and Christopher Nolan devotees would argue that The Avengers had the advantage of higher 3D ticket prices. Also, The Dark Knight Rises box office take was hurt by the tragic theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. It’s a valid argument because according to our calculations, The Dark Knight Rises likely could have made around $72 million more if it has been released in 3D. And while it’s difficult to estimate, the Aurora shooting very likely caused quite a few people to avoid movie theaters out of fear of copycat shootings.
With The Avengers recently released on DVD/Blu-ray and The Dark Knight Rises set to be released on DVD/Blu-ray before the end of the year, the big question now becomes which of the two movies will sell more on DVD and Blu-ray this year. Comic book fans will likely pick up copies of both movies, but how will the DVD and Blu-rays fair among the general public?
On the one hand, The Avengers is more kid-friendly, so it could hold an advantage from parents buying as a stocking stuffer during the holiday season. On the other hand, people who skipped The Dark Knight Rises in theaters after the Aurora shootings could be anxious to finally see the movie for the first time. Plus, while The Avengers held the advantage with higher 3D ticket prices, The Dark Knight Rises could hold the advantage with box sets.
Because of legal issues, The Avengers Phase One box set has been delayed until next year, but The Dark Knight trilogy box set is being released this year. The chance to get all three of Nolan’s Batman films on Blu-ray is probably something that most fans simply won’t be able to pass up. The limited edition Bat Cowl also has to one of the coolest DVD/Blu-ray premiums ever. Ever since Amazon started taking pre-orders for The Dark Knight Rises, it has been beating The Avengers pretty regularly on their best sellers chart.
So what do you think? Will The Dark Knight Rises beat The Avengers when it comes to DVD and Blu-ray sales? And if it does, then will Batman and Nolan fans have more fuel to the argument that The Dark Knight Rises would have beaten The Avenger in theaters if not for the effect of 3D ticket prices and the Aurora shootings?
