Cops today fanned out to all 40 New York movie houses showing “The Dark Knight Rises” in hope of preventing a repeat of the horrific Aurora, Colo. theater killings.

“We are doing that to address the potential of a copycat event and to reassure moviegoers, particularly parents,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today.

He said the deployment was “appropriate considering the terrible events that happened in Aurora.”

“We’re just concerned that someone seeking notoriety will tend to do something similar when a high-profile event happens,” the commissioner said.

“We’re going to have additional police presence there [at movies]. We urge people to go about their business, we don’t believe it requires a change in activity or plans.”

Two police cars were parked outside the AMC Empire 25 Theater on West 42nd Street in Times Square today.

Some moviegoers were nervous. “It’s a movie theater — you’re sitting ducks,” said Peter Rothbard, 26, an actor from Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

“It’s a movie about terrorism and people who want to destroy the government and society,” Rothbard said. “Who knows if the gunman was actually inspired by the movie itself?”

His friend Andrew Wilson, 25, also of Crown Heights, wasn’t nervous.

“We live in statistically the safest big city in the world,” Wilson said. “If something is going to happen, it’s going to happen.”