AURORA, Colo. — The Colorado theater where 12 people were killed and dozens injured in a shooting rampage reopened Thursday with a remembrance ceremony and a private screening of ‘‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’’ for survivors — but for some Aurora victims, the pain is still too much, the idea too horrific.

Several families boycotted what they called a callous public relations ploy by the theater’s owner, Cinemark. They claimed the company didn’t ask them what should happen to the theater. They said Cinemark e-mailed them an invitation to Thursday’s reopening just two days after they struggled through Christmas.