Fans petition Warner Brothers to release ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ in UAE in July

Though we’ve had a great summer so far, the biggest film that every movie fan is waiting for with bated breath is Christopher Nolan’s epic finale to the ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy. But a dark world awaits us living in UAE, because while the US release date of the film is July 20th, we here get to see it a whole month later on August 16th. The reason is Ramadan, and the distributor Shooting Stars has decided to postpone the date of the release to co-incide with Eid since that’s the best time to release blockbusters. But that also means that in the age of the Internet, we will not only be having to wait a full month to see it but will also most likely be spoiled about the film entirely thanks to messaging forums and news websites that can instantly ruin what looks to be a memorable ending to the franchise. But one fan actually decided to petition against it.

A petition has been going around the internet aimed directly at Warner Bros. Entertainment & Shooting Stars LLC demands the studio to release the film on July 20th when most of the world get to see it. The argument made is quite detailed and mature, and hopefully it helps in reversing the decision and having us see the film earlier. It makes sense for the studio financially to release the film on the lucrative date of Eid, but the film will still be running during Eid considering most Ramadan releases are small indies that don’t retain their screens in the long run. Here’s the details from the petition page itself:

To Warner Bros. Entertainment & Shooting Stars LLC,

The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most, if not the most anticipated movie release for 2012. It has been decided by you, that the audience of the Middle East will be denied seeing the film until August 16, when Ramadan has ended. While many may wait to see the film after the Holy Month has finished, there are an equal proportion of Batman fans, if not more, who would hit the cinema for a July 20 release. We are those fans, and here is our argument.

Batman: The Dark Knight grossed USD 2.8 million in the UAE when it was released in 2008 and is one of the Middle East’s all-time top 10 grossing films. For fans who have been tremendously dedicated to this franchise from Batman Begins, it is ridiculous that we should have to wait an entire month for what could become one of the Middle East’s favourite movies of all time.

Going to the cinema is a collective experience and this is not limited to the people in the cinema with you. With any highly anticipated release, there is a global fervour and excitement that is truly a wonderful thing to be a part of. Citizens of the Middle East will be counting down just like the rest of the world and by the time it comes to D-Day in this part of the world, it will be yesterday’s news, the spoilers will be unavoidable and pirated versions of the movie will have popped up all over the internet.

We want to be a part of The Dark Knight Rises in real time. We want to be able to talk about it with our friends from all over the world. We want to join the conversation and the celebration assertively. This is the end of an era, let us celebrate it with the rest of the world.

Yours in earnest,
The Dark Knight Fans

You can sign the petition here and make your voice heard.

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is the epic film Dubai deserves. Failed attempt at quoting there.