The Dark Knight Rises, Batman at the Box Office and the Colorado Shooting By Ronn Torossian - The effects on the brand, crisis public relations and whats next.

1. The Dark Knight Rises,
Batman at the Box Office
and the Colorado Shooting
By Ronn Torossian
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2. Could Colorado theater massacre hurt 'The Dark Knight
Rises' at the box office?
The tragedy also begs the question of whether it is likely to have a
lasting, negative impact on the entire Batman franchise.
“While this is a tragic incident, Batman is eternal and its box office
performance won‟t be affected by the shooting. While it is interesting
that marketers in Finland have temporarily suspended marketing the
movie, I would venture in a few days all will be back to normal,” said
PR expert Ronn Torossian, CEO of New York PR firm 5WPR. “Long
term, people won‟t associate this shooting with Batman.”
Warner Bros. released a statement Friday declaring that the studio
“and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking
incident.” They went on to extend “sincere sympathies to the families
and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/07/20/colorado-theater-massacre-could-hurt-
dark-knight-rises-at-box-office-experts/#ixzz21ZeksMdG
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3. Q & A: The impact of the Colorado shootings on the marketing
of Batman
Global News: What impact will this incident have on the Dark Knight
franchise?
Ronn Torossian: I think that while it‟s a terrible tragedy, unfortunately
violence is a part of life in the world today. I think the Batman franchise
is one that will not be affected in the long-term by this tragedy. I think
that two years from now, people will remember a shooting; they will not
necessarily remember the shooting at a Batman movie.
Global News:Do you think it will be „business as usual‟ for the public
relations team?
Ronn Torossian: It cannot be business as usual today. It cannot be
business as usual tomorrow. Will it be business as usual very short
term? Yes. Over the course of a week or two? Yes. Millions have been
invested in this, and obviously Batman didn‟t do anything wrong.
Warner Brothers didn‟t do anything wrong. I think in the very near-term
you will see a return to marketing as business as usual.
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Read More: http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442683059

4. Q & A: The impact of the Colorado shootings on the marketing
of Batman (continued)
Global News:Are there things they should not do i.e. is there a bad way
to handle this?
Ronn Torossian: So they did the right thing by sending their
condolences. I think that this is not something that will be recalled of as
a shooting at a Batman movie. I think it will be thought of as a shooting
in Denver. And again, unfortunately, that‟s what life in the world is about
today. It has nothing to do with the Batman franchise, obviously. There‟s
been plenty of violence in many different places and it‟s not associated
with those places necessarily. I do not believe you will see this affect the
Batman movie or the Batman franchise.
Global News:The shooter was wearing a gas mask that some say
bears similarity to The Dark Knight Rises villain, Bane. Do you think that
means the incident does have something to do with the Batman
franchise?
Ronn Torossian: No. Again this is a sick person. I‟m not a psychologist,
but from a marketing standpoint, from somebody who builds brands for
a living, the Batman franchise is one that is clearly established.
Read More: http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442683059 4

5. Q & A: The impact of the Colorado shootings on the marketing
of Batman (continued)
Global News: If you were the PR firm handling it, how would you
handle it?
Ronn Torossian: If I was today in charge of marketing for this movie I
would place a few day moratorium. I would follow the story, and I
certainly wouldn‟t do any advertising at least until mid next week. I
would tone down any violence in advertising that exists. I would make
sure that in any interviews that my talent is doing over the next few
days, they start the interview by saying „we have condolences for the
victims.‟ They have to make sure that message is getting out there.
Global News: Anything else you think is important to note?
Ronn Torossian: I think that people worldwide today realize that
tragedies like this are unfortunately a fact of life. You‟re still going to
see movie theatres packed, you‟ll still see people going out.
Unfortunately there‟s how many shootings on a college campus every
year? The families remember, but people don‟t remember long-
term, and the same goes for this.
Read More: http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442683059
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6. After Batman Shooting, Hollywood Looks Within
Summer is often the most violent of times at the movies, with big
blockbusters that feature elaborately choreographed gun fights and
explosions. This summer has been no different, and Hollywood has
stocked August with some of its more violent titles including the Total
Recall reboot, The Bourne Legacy, and The Expendables 2. Yet
because of the tragedy in Aurora, the marketing campaigns for these
films may change.
“I do think you will see other movies marketed differently,” says Ronn
Torossian, chief executive of 5WPR, which represents celebrities and
films. “I would advise anybody with a violent movie to push back the
release date. I would say, get out of the summer. Push your release
date back.”
Read More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/22/after-batman-shooting-hollywood-looks-
within.html
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7. Ronn Torossian on Insider Edition on the Crisis PR of Batman
following the Colorado Massacre
Watch More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaRo8WrjcH0
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8. Colorado shooting keeps 'Dark Knight' box office at low end
of range
After the shooting, theaters tightened security, and Warner Bros. scaled
back promotional plans, canceling a Paris premiere and appearances
by the cast and crew in Mexico and Japan.
Ronn Torossian, chief executive of New York-based 5W Public
Relations which is not involved with the movie's release, said it was
smart for the studios to stay quiet in the early days after such a horrific
event and he expected the marketing for upcoming, violent films like
"The Expendables" to tweak their advertising. But by September, if not
earlier, that will change.
"This will affect marketing movies in the short term," he said. "(But) the
media has a very short memory, and it's something that in the long run
will not affect" film promotion.
Read More: http://www.wdbj7.com/sns-colorado-shooting-keeps-dark-knight-box-office-at-low-end-of-range-
20120721,0,2974844.story
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9. U.S. shooting quiets Hollywood, slows "Dark Knight" box office
Hollywood studios will not release box-offices figures on Sunday after the
fatal gun rampage at a midnight showing for the Batman movie "The Dark
Knight Rises," which made less money than some industry insiders
projected.
The film grossed $74 million on Friday in the United States and Canada and
is seen generating $173 million by the end of the weekend, people with
knowledge of industry figures said on Saturday.
Official figures were not released by the distributor, Warner Bros. For the
first time box office watchers could remember, Hollywood's other major film
studios decided not to release weekend ticket sales figures on Saturday.
"We're joining our colleagues at Warner Bros and not reporting grosses
during this period of mourning," Sony Pictures said in a statement.
Hollywood.com Box Office, which reports the weekend figures, said it was
not sure if it would publish its list this week. A Warner Brothers
spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment on Friday night
numbers.
Read More on Ronn Torossian at http://www.cnbc.com/id/48271771 9

10. UPDATE 1-US shooting quiets Hollywood, slows 'Dark Knight'
box office
* 'Dark Knight Rises' appears headed to $173 million weekend
* Hollywood studios decline to post official sales figures
* Some sources say shooting hurt overall movie going Friday
Ronn Torossian, chief executive of New York-based 5WPR, which is not
involved with the movie's release, said it was smart for the studios to
stay quiet in the days after such a horrific event. He said he expected
the marketing for upcoming, violent films like "The Expendables" to
tweak their advertising. But by September, if not earlier, that will
change.
"This will affect marketing movies in the short-term," he said. "(But) the
media has a very short memory, and it's something that in the long run
will not affect" film promotion.
LONE KILLER, NO COPYCAT
Read More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/21/usa-shooting-boxoffice-opening- 10
idUSL2E8IL3T520120721

11. 'The Dark Knight Rises' After Aurora: When Bad Things
Happen Around Movies
It's difficult to conceive of a time when "The Dark Knight Rises" won't
automatically conjure mental images of the deadly shooting at a midnight
screening of the film that left 12 dead and 59 injured in Aurora, Colo. last
week. That kind of stuff is supposed to happen on a Hollywood set -- and
whether that should even happen is certainly a hot topic in the wake of
Aurora -- not in the theater seat next to you. But this isn't the first time that a
bad thing has happened to a good movie.
So does a case of bad timing have the ability to permanently mar a film,
making it a constant reminder of real-life tragedy rather than
entertainment?
"After congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot last year, people spoke of
politics being more civil forever and now, only a year and a half later its back
to normal," Ronn Torossian, CEO of top PR agency 5WPR, told The
Huffington Post. "Movies will be the same. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney
have both temporarily pulled negative campaign ads in Colorado and as sure
as I am that their negative ads will return, so too will regular marketing for
['The Dark Knight Rises']."
Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/the-dark-knight-rises-aurora_n_1696633.html 11

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