NEW YORK — The three 18-year-olds, friends since middle school, are about to go off separately to college this fall. But on Sunday, these avid fans of the Batman film franchise had no doubt where they wanted to be: together, at the movies, watching "The Dark Knight Rises."

"What happened in Colorado was horrible, but that guy was just a psycho," said Sahil Agrawal, of Queens in New York City, waiting with friends David Kim and Danny Wong for an Imax showing on Manhattan's Upper West Side. "This wasn't going to change our plans."

The three were typical of hordes of fans who packed theaters across the country over the weekend, keeping plans to see the final installment of the phenomenally successful Batman trilogy despite Friday's horrific shooting in Colorado. Despite the occasional jitter — reflected in the choice of a back-row seat, perhaps, or a glance to see what security was in place — moviegoers seemed determined to look beyond the shooting.