--- title: Theaters Ban Masks and Weapons at 'Star Wars' Screenings description: For security purposes, movie theater chains say masks and weapons will be banned at screenings of 'The Force Awakens' canonical: https://time.com/4097473/star-wars-masks-weapons-banned/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-02T22:42:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:17:11.828Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Theaters Ban Masks and Weapons at 'Star Wars' Screenings og:description: For security purposes, movie theater chains say masks and weapons will be banned og:url: https://time.com/4097473/star-wars-masks-weapons-banned/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Theaters Ban Masks and Weapons at 'Star Wars' Screenings twitter:description: For security purposes, movie theater chains say masks and weapons will be banned twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Theaters Ban Masks and Weapons at _Star Wars_ Screenings by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Nov 2, 2015 10:42 PM UTC by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Nov 2, 2015 10:42 PM UTC _Star Wars_ fans might consider lightsabers to be [elegant weapons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aRtupiY9Dw) for a more civilized age, but glowing swords won’t be welcome at hundreds of theaters showing _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_, and neither will masks or face paint. As spotted on Twitter, the Cinemark theater chain’s posters for the highly-anticipated space-opera sequel warn that “_Star Wars_ costumes are welcome. However, no face coverings, face paint, or simulated weapons (including lightsabers/blasters) will be allowed in the building.” Headquarted in Plano, Texas, Cinemark is the third largest theater chain in the U.S., with 334 theaters in 41 states. > [](https://twitter.com/Red5Aggie/status/657652303055319040) Masks and blasters are also verboten at AMC theaters, which comprise the No. 2 chain in the U.S. Lightsabers will be permitted as long as they’re switched off once the show starts. [Per the company’s website](https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/star-wars-the-force-awakens), “AMC does not permit weapons or items that would make other guests feel uncomfortable or detract from the movie-going experience. Guests are welcome to come dressed in costume, but we do not permit masks. In short, bring your lightsaber, turn it off during the movie, and leave the blaster and Darth Vader mask at home.” An AMC spokesperson told EW the statement reflects the company’s standard costume policy, which has been in place for several years without generating negative feedback from moviegoers. Concerns about balancing public safety and security with personal privacy and freedom at the multiplex have come to the fore in recent years in the wake of mass shootings at theaters in [Aurora](http://www.ew.com/article/2012/07/20/dark-knight-rises-colorado-theater-shooting), Colo., and [Lafayette](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/23/shooting-reported-during-trainwreck-screening-louisiana), La. Representatives for Cinemark and Regal Cinemas (the largest theater chain in the U.S.) did not immediately respond to requests for comment about their costume policies. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/02/star-wars-force-awakens-theaters-ban-masks-weapons) _originally appeared on_[ _EW.com_](http://ew.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4097473/star-wars-masks-weapons-banned/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4097473/star-wars-masks-weapons-banned/"},"headline":"Theaters Ban Masks and Weapons at Star Wars Screenings","datePublished":"2015-11-02T22:42:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:17:11.828Z","description":"For security purposes, movie theater chains say masks and weapons will be banned at screenings of The Force Awakens","url":"https://time.com/4097473/star-wars-masks-weapons-banned/","keywords":["movies","Star Wars topic","Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4097473/star-wars-masks-weapons-banned/","name":"Theaters Ban Masks and Weapons at Star Wars Screenings"}}]}] ```