Over 1,000 People Rush to "Movie Ticket 5,000 Won" Event, Resulting in Brawl... Serious Side Effects of US 'Cinema Day'

Possibility of SNS Fight Escalating into Real Fight
Boy Injured by Gunshot... Police Dispatched
Rising Calls to Abolish 'Cinema Day' Created During COVID-19

At theaters across the United States, hundreds of teenagers flocked to an event where movie tickets were sold nationwide for $4 (about 5,300 won), leading to mass brawls and injuries.

"Movie tickets for 5,300 won?"... Over 1,000 teenagers gather, resulting in brawls

The largest movie theater chain in the United States, AMC.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to local daily LA Times and CBS·ABC broadcasts on the 29th (local time), last Sunday, the 27th, the 'National Cinema Day' event organized by the U.S. theater owners' association took place, selling movie tickets for $4 each. Hundreds of teenagers gathered at shopping malls with major theaters, causing an emergency situation.

Police reported that around 4 p.m. that day, a report was received of a brawl involving about a thousand teenagers in front of a shopping mall in Torrance, a major city in Los Angeles (LA) County. The fight among groups of teenagers continued for several hours until police arrived and subdued the scene.

To control the tens of thousands of crowds, police from the nearby city of Culver City also arrived to suppress the situation and disperse the teenagers.

There was also a report of gunfire at the scene, but police said there were no serious injuries.

Witnesses said the brawl started around the AMC theater that day.

One witness said, "Everyone was running toward the theater," adding, "Even though people were already gathered, others kept jumping on top of them," describing the situation at the time.

Disturbances also in California, Boston, Chicago... From fights shared on SNS to real fights, injuries from shootings

A fight among teenagers in front of the AMC theater in Emeryville, California. [Image source: TikTok capture]

Similar disturbances occurred in Emeryville in Northern California, Boston in the East, and near Chicago.

At around 4:30 p.m. the same day, hundreds of teenagers gathered in front of the AMC theater at Bay Street Shopping Mall in Emeryville, causing an incident. Gunshots were heard in the surrounding streets, and one teenager was stabbed with a knife and transported to the hospital, but was reported to be in stable condition.

The local police estimated that hundreds gathered as local teenagers repeatedly posted on social media (SNS) to "meet" at the shopping mall, but they have not identified the direct cause of the fights or stabbings.

Media reports also mentioned speculation that teenagers started a fake fight for video shooting to increase TikTok views, which then escalated into a real fight.

In Boston, brawls among teenagers occurred at two AMC theaters. The fight started in front of the AMC theater inside the South Bay Shopping Center in the Dorchester area of Boston, and police arrested eight teenagers aged 12 to 17 who led the fight at the scene.

The theater staff eventually closed the doors and sent the teenagers home as the number of teenage patrons became unmanageable.

In Cicero, a city near Chicago, Illinois, around 5:45 p.m. on the same day, about 250 teenagers gathered in front of the AMC theater. When the theater turned some away due to lack of seats, a disturbance began.

According to police, gunfire broke out as teenagers were returning to the theater parking lot, and one boy was shot and injured. Police arrested one person related to the shooting but have not yet disclosed the reason for the shooting.

Additionally, in Albany, New York, and Douglasville, Georgia, dozens of teenagers were involved in physical fights near theaters.

Intended to revive theaters hit by COVID-19... Growing calls for cancellation due to side effects

'National Cinema Day' is an event first created last year by the Cinema Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by the National Association of Theatre Owners, to attract audiences to theaters that had been depressed due to COVID-19.

Considering that the ticket price at the major theater chain AMC is $14 to $18 (18,600 to 23,900 won), tickets were sold at up to about one-quarter of the usual price.

Last year, tickets were sold for $3 (about 4,000 won), and 8 million people visited theaters in one day, doubling the total ticket revenue compared to the previous day, according to media reports.

However, following numerous crowds and various disturbances across the U.S. on the day of last year's event, and with worsening side effects such as teenage brawls and injuries this year, voices calling for the cancellation of the event are growing stronger.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.