The Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" made $64.1 million in the U.S. and Canada in its second weekend, topping the box office charts despite facing competition from Olympic television coverage and the aftermath of the Colorado shooting. The film, the final installment in director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale, also earned $122.1 million from international markets, bringing its total overseas earnings to $248.2 million since its release on July 20. When combined with domestic ticket sales of $289 million, the film has now grossed $537 million globally. Despite a 60 percent drop in sales from its opening weekend, "The Dark Knight Rises" still outperformed its predecessor "The Dark Knight" and other recent superhero films in terms of second weekend sales. This year, the summer blockbuster "The Avengers" saw a 50 percent decrease in sales during the weekend following its May opening, while the June release "The Amazing Spider-Man" experienced a 44 percent decline. Despite being one of the top-grossing movies of the year, "Dark Knight Rises" did not meet pre-release sales expectations after the tragic shooting at a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado. Sales for "Dark Knight Rises" in North America were lower than its predecessor, "Dark Knight," which earned $313.8 million domestically in its first two weekends. The impact of the Olympics and the shooting in Aurora likely contributed to decreased turnout for the Batman film and other movies, according to industry experts. Warner Bros. officials declined to comment on box office numbers in relation to the shooting for the second week in a row. The Olympics have been receiving a lot of media attention recently and may have caused many people to stay home on Friday night. In addition, the Aurora shooting has also been a major news story. The lack of positive reviews for new movies this weekend likely contributed to lower theater attendance, but it is expected that attendance will increase next weekend. With more time passing since the Aurora shooting, the Olympics becoming more routine, and exciting new films being released, there is optimism for increased ticket sales. The weekend's domestic ticket sales were 25 percent lower than the same weekend last year, according to Hollywood.com Box Office. The second spot at the box office this weekend was taken by the animated children's movie "Ice Age: Continental Drift," which earned $13.3 million. It outperformed the comedy "The Watch" and the dance movie "Step Up Revolution," both of which premiered in theatres this weekend. "The Watch" came in third place, bringing in $13 million at domestic theatres. The film features Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill as men who form a neighbourhood watch group to fight aliens. Despite largely negative reviews, with only 14 percent of critics on Rotten Tomatoes praising the film. The film "The Watch" was impacted by actual events when 20th Century Fox decided to change its title from "Neighbourhood Watch" to avoid association with the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. Despite uncertainty, Fox anticipated the $68 million production to make $13 million to $15 million at the box office over the weekend following the shooting. Chris Aronson, Fox's executive vice president for domestic distribution, acknowledged the unpredictable nature of the weekend in light of the shooting. Aronson expressed optimism for a recovery in the overall market, believing that it would be advantageous for all films. "Step Up Revolution" earned $11.8 million domestically, placing fourth. The movie, which follows a group of flash-mob dancers in Miami, is the fourth installment in a series that has made over $400 million globally. The distributor had anticipated a domestic opening in the low- to mid-teens. The comedy "Ted" closed out the top five with $7.4 million. The movie "Step Up Revolution" was distributed by a division of Lions Gate Entertainment. "The Watch" and "Ice Age" were distributed by 20th Century Fox, a division of News Corp. Sony Corp's film division was responsible for distributing "Spider-Man."