Los Angeles, Jul 21 (IANS): "The Dark Knight Rises" director Christopher Nolan has paid condolences to the victims and their families of Friday's deadly cinema hall rampage in Denver.

The mishap, in which a masked man opened fire at a midnight premiere of the latest Batman film, happened Friday morning. Nolan expressed grief over the incident, which left 12 people dead and 59 injured, reports contactmusic.com.

"I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community," Nolan said.

"I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. 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," he added.

The film's distribution company Warner Bros. Pictures has now cancelled the premiere in Paris and France.