In the wake of the recent shooting at a screening of Trainwreck in the US and the renewed media coverage of the 2012 mass-shooting at a screening for The Dark Knight Rises, cinema chains in the US are beginning to step up their security measures.
Regal Cinemas, a major cinema chain in the States, is now introducing mandatory bag-searches in the wake of these. A statement released yesterday by the chain says that "..to ensure the safety of our guests and employees, backpacks and bags of any kind are subject to inspection prior to admission."
"We acknowledge that this procedure can cause some inconvenience and that it is not without flaws, but hope these are minor in comparison to increased safety."
Some of the major US movie websites, such as Collider, believe that the measure is simply to stop customers from smuggling in their own confectionery. In any case, Regal are simply doing what they think is best and it's easy to see why.
Violence at cinemas is nothing new, but the most recent shootings have been specifically targeted to films where they have a large audience - rather than being a controversial film.
It's not yet known if other cinema chains will adopt a similar policy or if it will cross over to this side of the Atlantic. Some cinema chains here in Ireland do have a search policy when it comes to backpacks, however the purpose is more to deter piracy and illegal recording as opposed to mitigating potential security threats.
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Via Collider
