FIVE WEEKS before the latest instalment in the Batman franchise hits cinemas, tickets for The Dark Knight Rises are already on sale at cinemas such as Cineworld, IMC Tallaght, Movies@Dundrum and the Odeon chain. The level of hype surrounding the rubber-costumed crime-fighter suggests the Christopher Nolan film’s release will all but guarantee a rise in cinema admissions in Ireland this year.

Advertising buyers Core Media forecast in January that admissions would rise from last year’s 16.3 million to 16.9 million this year – a prediction that is already looking pretty safe thanks to the runaway success of Joss Whedon’s Marvel Avengers Assemble (the current box-office leader for 2012, with takings of €3.6 million) and the better-than-expected box office earnings of The Hunger Games (which took almost €2.3 million). Both films contributed to a massive 27 per cent rise in April admissions year-on-year, according to Carlton Screen Advertising.

Even in the highly unlikely event of The Dark Knight Rises going the way of John Carter – the film Disney was so quick to brand a flop, that the admission almost seemed akin to a reverse psychology promotional strategy – there are still some heavy hitters, such as The Hobbit and the return of Daniel Craig’s Bond in Skyfall, set to round out the year.