I had an email asking whether the fact that today we are competing with so many media outlets means we have to start our book or screenplay with a bang.
My opinion is...yes and no. The opening should have some kind of impact but it doesn't have to be an explosion, a shooting, or any other action sequence (although it can).
It could be an emotional impact.Naturally you will want to match the tone of the opening to the tone of the book but a sentence like "Saturday was the day Jason discovered the reason he'd been born" can pull a reader in as easily as "Saturday was the day Jason took his gun to school," or "Saturday was the day Jason's car exploded and killed two people and injured twelve others."
As a reader, I'm a sucker for a first sentence that makes me curious to read the next one, and that one makes me want to read the next one...and so on.
The next time you encounter a book you like, study how the author kept your interest (and the next time you encounter one you don't like, study how the author lost your interest).