Dark Knight Rises is expected to become 2012's biggest film but Warner Bros. decided to hold off reporting of the film's opening grosses out of respect to the victims of the Colorado shooting.

Early Friday morning during the midnight opening of “The Dark Knight Rises” at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, 12 were killed and injured 38 others after a gunman had a shooting rampage inside the theater.

According to the police, the suspect identified as James Holmes entered the cinema through the emergency exit around 12:30am on July 20. He stood at the front and fired into the crowd.

In the wake of this tragedy, Warner Bros. announced it would hold off reporting the The Dark Knight Rises’ opening grosses.

“Out of respect for the victims and their families,” the studio said in a statement Friday. “Warner Bros. Pictures will not be reporting box office numbers for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ throughout the weekend. Box office numbers will be released on Monday.”

Christopher Nolan, director of “The Dark Knight Rises,” expressed his sorrow for the Colorado shooting victims.

“Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community,” he said in a statement. “I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime.

“The movie theatre is my home,and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families,” he added.