Regal Entertainment Group will now check the bags of theatergoers before they are allowed to purchase a movie ticket.
The new heightened security procedure comes after a growing occurrence of theater shootings around the country.
Chicago’s Regal Webster Place 11 cinema at Webster and Clybourn Avenues is one of the Tennessee-based chain’s 570 locations reserving the right to sift through the items you’re carrying in.
Signs posted outside the Lincoln Park theater notified customers of the change, and most heading into Thursday’s matinee showings didn’t seem to mind.
“I don’t feel any different about that than someone going through my bags at the airport,” one customer, Linda Sims, told NBC Chicago.
Others echoed the same sentiment.
“With everything that’s been going on in movie theatres around the country, I don’t mind getting it searched,” said Rowena Co.
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Earlier this month, a man with a history of mental illness and armed with a pellet gun, hatchet and pepper spray attacked guests at a nighttime screening in Antioch, Tennessee, before being shot dead by police.
Two weeks before that, a man fatally shot two people and wounded nine others before taking his own life during a Lafayette, Louisiana screening of the comedy "Trainwreck.”
The attacks came just before Colorado theater shooter James Holmes was sentenced to life in prison for murdering 12 and injuring an additional 70 during a midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises” three years prior.
Maybe more than anyone in Chicago, Brett Stewart knows the impact of recent shootings at American movie theaters. Bag over his shoulder, he likes the new security policy.
“My hometown is Aurora, Colorado and I actually know people who were killed in the Aurora shooting.” Stewart said. “I don’t have any issue with it whatsoever.”
Regal Entertainment Group didn’t comment directly on whether the new measure was a response to those shootings, writing on its website only that "security issues have become a daily part of our lives in America" and adding that bags and backpacks are subject to inspection before entering.
“We acknowledge that this procedure can cause some inconvenience and that it is not without flaws, but I hope these are minor in comparison to increased safety,” the company said.
The amped-up security for what used to be a simple American pastime, going to see a movie, was a wakeup call for one customer, Rhonda Levin.
“[It’s] very sad because it’s a sign of the times,” Levin said.
A manager inside told NBC Chicago the policy is fairly new, but wouldn’t say exactly when it went into place. It is also unclear if this is the only pre-caution moviegoers can expect, or if more are planned as the summer movie season winds down.
But after going through the new security check, Brett Stewart was ready to buy his ticket to “Straight Outta Compton,” saying the tragedy back in his hometown won’t stop him from enjoying a day at the movies.
“You can’t let one maniac destroy a whole part of your culture,” he said.
