AMC Bans Masks For ‘Joker’ Film In Littleton

LITTLETON, CO — This is no joke. Landmark Theaters, a Los Angeles-based chain with screens across the country, will ban moviegoers from wearing masks, painted faces or costumes to screenings of the upcoming “Joker” film.

The move comes in response to growing concerns about the violence depicted in the film and after worries expressed by the families of those killed in the 2012 mass shooting in an Aurora theater screening of an earlier Batman film.

Separately, AMC Theatres, the biggest movie-theater chain in the United States, previously banned masks in theaters after the mass shooting in Aurora, but the company issued a reminder last week that audience members are not allowed to wear anything that obscures their faces. Costumes are still permitted.

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“Guests are welcome to come dressed in costume, but we do not permit masks, face paint or any object that conceals the face,” AMC said in a widely reported statement. “AMC does not permit weapons or items that would make other guests feel uncomfortable or detract from the movie going experience.”

“Joker” is set for release Friday.

AMC Bowles Crossing 12 at 8035 W Bowles Ave in Littleton and the nearby Highlands Ranch AMC at 103 W Centennial Blvd will not permit masks or any object that conceals someone's face.

The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as a failed clown who unravels into darkness and fights back against society. The movie has been criticized for glorifying mass violence, and Phoenix recently walked out of an interview after being asked whether the film could inspire real violence.

In the weeks before the film’s opening date, the FBI told local law-enforcement agencies across the country to watch for troubling online posts, according to the Washington Post.

The mass shooting seven years ago in Aurora during a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" left many Coloradans afraid to go to the theater. James Eagan Holmes killed 12 people and injured more than four dozen others.

U.S. military officials also warned about possible violence at screenings after they were contacted by FBI agents who reportedly found social media posts from extremists about possible violence at theaters.

The Army released a memo about online “chatter” on the dark web of threats at a Joker screening. The memo has caused theaters to plan extra security for the film.