Cops See Rise in Fights
at Hilltop Mall Cinema
By Joe Rogers, September 15, 2002 11:12 AM
RICHMOND -- Richmond moviegoers who caught rapper Ice Cube's new comedy "Barbershop" weren't laughing after two fights broke out at the Hilltop Mall on Saturday night.
Security guards broke up a fistfight between teen-agers inside the Century 16 Theater. Some patrons asked for refunds after a second fight erupted in the cinema lobby.
The Century's lobby has become a teen hot spot ever since the theater started selling popcorn and sodas to the general public by opening its lobby to people without movie tickets, police said.
Two uniformed police officers discouraged the teenage crowd from getting too rowdy.
Rough-housing inside and two police cars parked outside still did not deter many from entering the theater, which now shows "Barbershop" 15 times a day.
Young children held their parents hands and teenage girls chatted on cell phones as officers checked for tickets, telling anyone not holding a movie ticket to move along.
Century Theater spokesperson Nancy Klasky was unavailable for comment.
Billboard magazine reports that "Barbershop" was the top movie this weekend, grossing over $21 million since Friday.
