BATMAN has finally hit town - but it's pirates that cinema staff were more interested in as The Dark Knight opened in Warrnambool this week.
Movie distributor Village Roadshow issued nightvision scopes to cinemas across Australia in an attempt to catch would-be movie pirates filming illegal copies with hand-held devices during the first screenings of the latest Batman instalment.
But despite his best spy efforts, Capitol Cinema's general manager Greg Grant said the high-tech device did not uncover any illegal activities.
``This is the first time that has happened here and it was a pretty amazing experience for us,'' Mr Grant said.
``(Movie pirating) is probably more common in the city, but we do fairly regular checks here anyway.''
It is believed this is the first time such extreme security measures have been used in Australia to prevent movie piracy.
The Dark Knight opened in cinemas across the country on Wednesday.
Mr Grant said Warrnambool audiences were already packing the cinema to see the 152-minute movie and early reports indicated they liked what they saw.
``It's been a really good response, not just from Batman fans but Heath Ledger fans too,'' Mr Grant said. ``There has been a lot of hype in the media and everyone is talking about this movie.
``It is probably going to be the biggest movie of the year.
``It will be interesting to see how it goes here in the next few weeks.''
Mr Gent said the opening of The Dark Knight capped off a busy few months at the cinema with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Sex and The City: The Movie and Kung Fu Panda all drawing big crowds.
``This one will be right up there with crowds like Sex and The City I think,'' Mr Gent said.
``The last couple of months have been amazing with big releases and a lot of people coming through.'' Mr Gent said that during the opening period, from Wednesday to Sunday, he expected about 3000 people to head to Warrnambool's only cinema.
But despite his best spy efforts, Capitol Cinema's general manager Greg Gent said the high-tech device did not uncover any illegal activities.
``This is the first time that has happened here and it was a pretty amazing experience for us,'' Mr Grant said.
``(Movie pirating) is probably more common in the city, but we do fairly regular checks here anyway.''
It is believed this is the first time such extreme security measures have been used in Australia to prevent movie piracy.
The Dark Knight opened in cinemas across the country on Wednesday.
Mr Gent said Warrnambool audiences were already packing the cinema to see the 152-minute movie and early reports indicated they liked what they saw.
``It's been a really good response, not just from Batman fans but Heath Ledger fans too,'' Mr Gent said. ``There has been a lot of hype in the media and everyone is talking about this movie.
``It is probably going to be the biggest movie of the year.
``It will be interesting to see how it goes here in the next few weeks.''
Mr Gent said the opening of The Dark Knight capped off a busy few months at the cinema with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Sex and The City: The Movie and Kung Fu Panda all drawing big crowds.
``This one will be right up there with crowds like Sex and The City I think,'' Mr Gent said.
``The last couple of months have been amazing with big releases and a lot of people coming through.''
Mr Gent said that during the opening period, from Wednesday to Sunday, he expected about 3000 people to head to Warrnambool's only cinema.
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