Regal movie theaters begin bag checks after theater attacks

One of the nation’s largest cinema chains has new security procedures that might affect your next trip to the movies.

Regal Entertainment Group is checking bags and backpacks in response to shootings at theaters around the country.

On its website, the company says the procedure “is not without flaws, but (we) hope these are minor in comparison to increased safety.”

The policy comes after a gunman killed two people at a Louisiana theater in July and after Nashville policed killed a man who attacked moviegoers with pepper spray and a hatchet on Aug. 5. The bag check procedure is in effect more than three years after a gunman killed 12 people in an Aurora movie theater.

“They’re doing the best they can trying to come up with ways to make their constituents more safe,” moviegoer Chris Jube said.

Regal posted signs at many of its box offices across the country, including Hollywood Theaters in Colorado Springs. The signs say the policy is for the comfort and safety of all guests.

Some moviegoers don’t think the policy will make a difference.

“I think it will probably just add to the illusion of safety,” moviegoer Elizabeth Johnson said. “It’s like taking your shoes off at the airport. It has become sort of the usual, but it’s not going to make any difference in the long run.”

Regal Entertainment’s bag policy is causing debate over the need for security in theaters.

“We have to figure out ways to come up with a healthy tension between protection and freedom. That’s a touchy issue,” Jube said.