General Discussion

If you have been underground for a few days you may be the only one who hasn't heard about the horrific shootings in Colorado.

After such a shocking and violent event Warner Bros., as well Fox, Sony, Disney, Universal, and Paramount will all be going silent on box office reports this week. Link.

Clearly this event is having repercussions throughout the movie industry as the heads of theater companies are going to meet to best decide how best to continue operating theaters while keeping patrons safe. It's an odd debate stemming from an odd tragedy. The way we go and see movies may have changed.

There's no reason for anything to change as you just can't stop things like this from happening. If people think having more security at cinemas is the answer they are sorely mistaken - getting TSA'd to go see a movie is a surefire way to kill off cinema going. Even if that were to happen then inevitably a similar thing would only happen at some other gathering like a supermarket or little league game. Politicians want to talk tough but don't want to confront the spectre of gun control that plagues America.

@StormtrooprDave said:

There's no reason for anything to change as you just can't stop things like this from happening. If people think having more security at cinemas is the answer they are sorely mistaken - getting TSA'd to go see a movie is a surefire way to kill off cinema going. Even if that were to happen then inevitably a similar thing would only happen at some other gathering like a supermarket or little league game. Politicians want to talk tough but don't want to confront the spectre of gun control that plagues America.

yeah gimme a break that isn't going to do anything. the guy didn't even bring a gun into the theater--he planted tear gas beforehand and waited outside.

this is a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the victims.

@FinalDasa: thanks, that does explain alot

Word on the street is The Dark Knight Rises will do $160 to $162 million domestically this opening weekend. That's the most for a 2D movie and places it third behind 3D movies, The Avengers and Harry Potter 7.5.

$160M puts it above The Hunger Games and below the Avengers to become the second highest grossing weekend of the year. I expect TDKR to be the second highest grossing film of the year, falling short of The Avengers due to lack of 3D, and unfortunately the Colorado tragedy.

I certainly hope the way we go to the theater won't change dramatically. Security checks like we already face for professional sports games and concerts would almost certainly be the death of Cinemas. People would just stay at home, more so than they already do now. I expect the theater owners know this, and won't make any big changes.