'The Watch’ And ‘Step Up Revolution’ May Suffer In Box Office Gross After Aurora Shooting

A survey from NRG has reportedly found that 20 to 25 percent of moviegoers are hesitant to head to the theaters after the events that transpired in Aurora, Colo. during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." One week after the shooting, the box office gross for new releases like "The Watch" and "Step Up Revolution" may be negatively affected by people's reluctance.

NRG is used by film companies to track interest in their movies, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The research firm has reported that nearly a quarter of all moviegoers show hesitancy in heading to the theater this weekend.

Despite these figures, "The Dark Knight Rises," the film the shooting took place during, has done well at the box office. The Batman finale had the highest grossing opening weekend for any 2D film and has a domestic gross of $211.8 million as of July 25, reports to Box Office Mojo.

Though "The Dark Knight Rises" was able to prevail, films like "The Watch," which has a 13% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of Friday, may have more trouble selling tickets in the wake of the Aurora tragedy. The sci-fi comedy starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade was already retooled by 20^th Century Fox following the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman when its title was changed from "The Neighborhood Watch."

The Summit film "Step Up Revolution" won't be making any edits to its new dance film, even choosing to leave a scene where a dance troop enters a room wearing gas masks. After it was reported that alleged Aurora shooter James Holmes wore a gas mask during his attack the scene was removed from advertisements but won't be cut from the film.

The studio "Immediately removed television advertising that briefly showcased that scene from the film," quoted the Hollywood Reporter from a Summit statement. "Having taken these steps, Summit will open this inspirational, nonviolent film in theatres nationwide this weekend as originally edited."

This weekend's releases aren't the only ones being affected by the Aurora shooting. The Warner Bros. movie "Gangster Squad" was set to be released on Sept. 7, but has been pushed back to Jan 11 due to it's violent content, reports the Daily Mail.

The crime film starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Giovanni Ribisi, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin featured a shoot out within a movie theater in its trailer. The trailer was removed from theaters by Warner Bros., and the later release date will give filmmakers to create an alternative scene, says to the Hollywood Reporter.