Hollywood is good at killing people in movies with guns, but unfortunately Americans are good at doing the same in real-life. In fact, if film producers wanted to accurately portray the amount of people being killed every year by firearms, they would have to kill on average, at least 13 people per film released.
The latest FBI gun crime stats show that in 2012, 8855 people were killed by firearms in the U.S with an upward forecast predicted for 2013. At the same time, 665 films were released at the box office (not all necessarily made in Hollywood, but released in U.S theaters for American audiences).
If all those films ran back-to-back, and averaged 90 minutes each, one person would have to be shot dead on screen approximately every 7 minutes to match the real-life kill ratio.
Recently we saw yet another tragedy happen at a movie theater where a retired police captain decided to shoot someone because they were texting with their phone. That person died later in hospital.
We are also reminded about what happened in Colorado when the 'Dark Knight Rises' midnight screening turned into a massacre and people were gunned down.
Movie to kill ratio
- 8855 people killed by firearms in 2012
- 665 movies released
- Average movie length 90 minutes
- 13 people killed per movie
- On-screen death every 7 minutes
The question here is, do people really need to carry firearms to see a movie, or would it be better for Hollywood and the wider film industry to up the body count on-screen?
