SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM, 3RD UPDATE: What’s normally one of the best box office weekends of the summer fell victim to a lack of must-see pics, the rivalry of the London Olympics opening ceremonies and games, and the awful aftermath of the Colorado theater shooting.

(And don’t think for a minute that  the Hollywood studios aren’t using these excuses as cover…) This weekend started out as a downer for North American moviegoing on Friday.

Then went up a bit Saturday. (Noted one studio exec, “It doesn’t make as good a story as terror in cinemas, but the box office recovered nicely Saturday from opening night at the Olympics.”) And ended with a total $135M, which is still a massive -22% drop from last year. ”Hopefully next week, also one of the best of the summer, everything bounces back,” an exec emailed me. But right now reality bites: both new movies this weekend were so weak they couldn’t even crack the low teens in millions of dollars.

 Summit Entertainment‘s PG-13 global dance franchise Step Up Revolution earned a ‘B+’ from audiences which should have helped word of mouth but didn’t, while Twentieth Century Fox‘s R-rated comedy The Watch with stars Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, and Jonah Hill received only a ‘C+’ so wanna-see will be limited.But Warner Bros‘ and Legendary Pictures’  The Dark Knight Rises remained a strong #1 and even jumped... See Complete Article @ Deadline Hollywood