As Towson Town Center added a well-publicized youth escort policy last month, officials of Cinemark Towson and XD, a movie theater on East Joppa Road downtown, updated its youth curfew policy.
The theater has had a curfew of 9 p.m. for unaccompanied customers younger than 17 since opening, according to manager Angela Graham. But in mid-September officials updated that policy to require that on Fridays and Saturdays those under 17 be accompanied by a parent after 5 p.m.
The updated policy, which is posted on the theater's website, reads; "No one under the age of 17 will be permitted into this theatre after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays or after 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, unless accompanied by their legal parent. Parents must stay and watch the same movie with their child."
According to the Movie Picture Association of America's report on theatrical market statistics for 2015, published in April 2016, the 12-17 year old age group has the highest movie attendance rate on a per capita basis in the United States and Canada, meaning they go to theaters more frequently than other age groups.
The 12-17 age group represents 8 percent of the general population, according to the report, but the same group represents 11 percent of moviegoers and 16 percent of tickets sold. The report says 15 percent of "frequent moviegoers," who attend a movie once a month or more, are between 12 and 17.
Patrick Corcoran, Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for the National Association of Theatre Owners, said he has seen theaters institute similar policies from time to time, though he said he didn't keep track of how many theaters around the nation have such a policy. A youth escort policy is a way to get a handle on issues that come about occasionally with unaccompanied minors, Corcoran said.