'Dark Knight' studios donate to shooting victims fund

The fund for victims of the Colorado theater shooting is now up to nearly $2 million, the Associated Press reports. That's thanks in part to donations from the studios that distributed the last Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, which was showing when a gunman shot to death 12 and wounded 58 last week.

The state of Colorado said Tuesday that the GivingFirst.org fund, set up to help the victims and their families in Aurora, Colo., has collected millions in donations. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, the studios behind Dark Knight, gave undisclosed amounts, and vowed not to disclose the size of their donations. State officials weren't saying either, nor did they disclose what was given by individual donors.

But the studios had a very good opening weekend with Dark Knight despite the tragedy in Aurora. The movie, which has been hyped for months as the last in director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, took in nearly $161 million. Warner Bros. delayed for a day the usual declaration of the opening box-office results, out of respect for the victims.

USA Today