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Nu Metro beefs up Batman security

Cape Town - Nu Metro announced plans on Wednesday to "reinforce security procedures" at their cinemas for the opening of The Dark Knight Rises in South Africa this week, after mass shootings in the US left 12 Batman movie fans dead.

The Dark Knight Rises opens in cinemas across South Africa on 27 July.

At a midnight screening of the movie on the day of its release in the US on Friday, a masked gunman opened fire in a crowded cinema in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others.

The shocking incident forced the cancellation of the The Dark Knight Rises red carpet premiere in Paris that day, which stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman and director Christopher Nolan were due to attend.

In addition, scheduled premieres in Tokyo and Mexico City for The Dark Knight Rises were cancelled and extra security was stationed at theatres over the weekend.

'Makes no sense'

Mark Harris, Content Executive for Nu Metro Cinemas, said that Nu Metro is "shocked and saddened by the tragedy… Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families."

"Our customer's safety is, and will always continue to be a priority for us," he added. "In the wake of this terrible incident in the USA, we will be reinforcing our security procedures (in terms of standard Health and Safety policies already in place) with our teams at cinema level around the country."

On his 5FM breakfast show on Wednesday, Gareth Cliff said Nu Metro's decision to increase security "makes no sense".

"We are such pattern-seeking animals," said the shock jock. "Just because it happened in Colorado doesn't mean its going to happen in Montecasino."

Harris assured moviegoers: "This incident, horrific as it is, is random and isolated and movie theatres are a safe place to seek entertainment."

Ster Kinekor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they had any similar security plans for their cinemas.

* Are Nu Metro over-reacting or just being cautious? Will the shootings in the US keep you away from the movie theatre when The Dark Knight Rises is released in South Africa on Friday? Send us your thoughts and get published!

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