Regal Cinemas institute bag checks in wake of recent theater shootings

Regal is the nation’s largest movie theater chain, with almost 600 theaters.

At the Fenway Regal 13 movie goers said they were nearly expecting it.

It was unclear when the policy was added or when it was first enforced.

Only a few weeks ago, a man opened fire during a showing of the film “Trainwreck”, killing two people and injuring nine others before committing suicide in Lafayette, La. I was surprised, but, it was perfectly fine with me.’ said Dawn Weinisch outside the Regal Columbus Stadium 12 at Town Center in Virginia Beach. “I felt very comfortable that they did it”.

Ticket takers were not, of course, looking for Weinisch’s water bottle, but they were looking for something else.

Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC) manages a theatre circuit in America. To ensure the safety of our guests and employees, backpacks and bags of any kind are subject to inspection prior to admission. A theater manager confirmed to the website Click Orlando that the sign was part of the new policy, which has already prompted backlash on Regal’s Facebook page. One comment called the policy unjust and unfriendly to law-abiding citizens.

Another poster said, “Do you guys want to go out of business?” RBC Capital reduced their target price on shares of Regal Entertainment Group from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. “I don’t think it’s that much to ask”.

The movie theater group that made this policy change says it’s aware of the inconvenience and that policy may have flaws but that it hopes those are minor in comparison to the increased safety.

“I was shocked, that people would yell for something like this”, Ms. Armfield said.

Shares of Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, AnalystRatingsNetwork.com reports.