Landmark Theaters Bans Joker Cosplay For Opening Weekend
Disney

Can we just agree as a society that clowns are terrible and move on?  The only place for a clown is at a rodeo.  The Landmark Theaters chain has banned any masks, face paint or costumes for the public and employees for the opening weekend of ‘Joker’.  To be clear, there have been no threats made to public safety surrounding the release of this film, but a gunman did kill 12 people and injure 70 others in 2012 on the opening weekend of ‘The Dark Knight’ which featured Heath Ledger as the famous Batman foe.

Landmark Theaters CEO Ted Mundorff confirmed with TMZ:

“We are not allowing costumes, face painting, or masks by either our employees or guests.”

Warner Brothers

Landmark operates over 50 theaters in 27 markets.

This news follows the mutual decision between Warner Brothers and Cinemark to not present the movie at all in the Century Aurora and XD in Aurora, Colorado, where the 2012 shoots took place.

 

RELATED:  ‘Joker’ Won’t Screen In The Colorado Theater Where 12 Were Killed At ‘The Dark Knight’ Screening; Warner Bros. Issues Statement

 

Not all theater chains are taking any steps to prevent violence.  When contacted by TMZ, a representative for Regal Cinemas stated:

“We do not believe the content or the existence of any movie is a cause or a signal for violence.”

A rep for the Los Angeles police department added:

“No credible threats at this time, but we are going to closely monitor what’s going on.”

When it was decided that the film would not screen at all at the Century Aurora and XD, Warner Brothers released the following statement:

“Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind.  It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.

 

“Gun violence in our society is a critical issue, and we extend our deepest sympathy to all victims and families impacted by these tragedies.  Our company has a long history of donating to victims of violence, including Aurora, and in recent weeks, our parent company joined other business leaders to call on policymakers to enact bipartisan legislation to address this epidemic. At the same time, Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues.”

Sadly, this is the USA so folks don’t need a special occasion to go around shooting people.  You can get shot going to church nowadays.  That may sound lackadaisical, but I’m a realist.

So leave the costumes, face paint, and masks at home if you plan to check out ‘Joker’ when it opens on October 4.