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"The Dark Knight Rises" topped the box office for the third week in a row, making $36.4 million this past weekend. The finale in Christopher Nolan's epic Batman trilogy has now made nearly $355 million domestically alone, according to Sunday estimates from Warner Bros.

“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” remained atop the box office this weekend — but the Aurora shooting tragedy on the night of the Batman film’s debut apparently continues to affect some of the public willingness to go see it. “The Dark Knight Rises” grossed nearly $64.1-million in its second weekend in North American theaters — a sizable 60-percent drop from its debut weekend, according to estimates reported Sunday by Warner Bros. Final numbers are expected Monday.

The finale of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy took in about $162 million in North America, less than expected, in the wake of the deadly theater shooting in Colorado.

After a tragic start to its domestic run, Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight Rises" is still poised for boffo biz at the domestic box office, with early estimates putting the Batman sequel at $75 million to 80 million for Friday alone... Warner Bros. announced on Friday that it would not report box office figures for "The Dark Knight Rises" over the weekend out of respect for the victims of the shooting in Aurora, Colo., which left 12 people dead after a lone gunman opened fire on the packed theater at a Thursday midnight screening. It was the second Batpic in a row to open under tragic circumstances; Heath Ledger's death in January 2008 came before his Oscar-winning turn as The Joker in that year's July release, "The Dark Knight."

"Ice Age: Continental Drift," the fourth film in the animated series about a woolly mammoth and his prehistoric friends, trampled "The Amazing Spider-Man" at U.S. and Canadian box offices over the weekend, selling $46 million worth of tickets and reaching No. 1.

Your new friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has spun himself a $65 million opening weekend and $140 million in his first six days at U.S. theaters. Worldwide, "The Amazing Spider-Man" has climbed to $341.2 million.

My sources say Sony Pictures’ superhero reboot The Amazing Spider-Man opened with $35M (though some rival studios put the number in the neighborhood of $32M tonight). It easily sets a new domestic record for a Tuesday opening – helped by its 3D premium pricing – and is ahead of the original 2D Transformers ($27.8M) that debuted on Tuesday July 3rd, 2007. ”That is one huge number,” a Sony exec gushed to me tonight. “Unbelievable start to what should be a very exciting 6 days.”

Smashing records and setting off early holiday fireworks, Seth MacFarlane's Ted debuted to a massive $54.1 million at the domestic box office -- the best showing ever for an original R-rated comedy. It wasn't the only R-rated winner of the weekend. Steven Soderbergh's male striptease dramedy Magic Mike likewise overperformed in a big way, grossing $39.2 million. It's the first time in history that two R-rated movies opened north of $20 million on the same weekend.

"Ted" earns $20.2 million, while "Magic Mike" earns $19.4 million; Tyler Perry's "Madea's Witness Protection" does good business with $10.3 million. The box office surged Friday as Ted and Magic Mike scored some of the best numbers ever for the R-rated comedy genre. Tyler Perry's more tame Madea's Witness Protection also did good business.

For the third time this year, following strong openings from "The Hunger Games" and "Snow White and the Huntsman," a movie with a tough female protagonist topped the box office in a major way.