Grab your popcorn, here’s a quick case alert for you. Regal Cinemas just found itself in the middle of a legal thriller, and this one is playing out in the Central District of California instead of the big screen. See Hensley v. Regal Cinemas, Inc., No. 8:25-cv-00468 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 11, 2025). Here, we have a moviegoer suing the theater giant, claiming they were bombarded with promotional text messages before 8 a.m., breaking the rules set by the TCPA.

We are not just talking about a single rogue text. According to the Complaint, Regal allegedly sent off four early morning marketing messages, including two that landed at 7:21 and 7:22 in the morning. Instead of waking up to a quiet morning, Plaintiff was greeted with ads for free popcorn, extra Crown Club credits, and something called Funnel Fangs. Curious enough, I had to look into what these Funnel Fangs are and apparently they are funnel cake fries with red icing… which sound pretty good. Nothing like getting a promo for deep-fried snacks before you have even had your first sip of coffee.

But here is where things get sticky, like the bottom of a theater floor after a late-night screening. As we know, strict guidelines under the TCPA prohibit businesses from sending telemarketing messages before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. However, allegedly Regal rolled the credits on that rule and kept the marketing show going anyway.

This is no small popcorn flick. This is a class action lawsuit, meaning thousands could have been hit with these early morning texts. And the timing could not be worse, no pun intended. TCPA lawsuits are exploding faster than a bag of extra-butter popcorn in a hot microwave. More TCPA class actions were filed in the first ten days of March than in all of March last year! 

Lawsuits over time-restricted messages keep rolling in, proving that plaintiffs’ lawyers are watching compliance missteps like hawks. Companies are learning the hard way that when they ignore TCPA rules, the lawsuits come in faster than a summer blockbuster lineup.