An Oregon minister is urging Regal Theaters to stop playing a promotional video tied to the U.S. Department of War after he said the ad aired before a Steven Spielberg film, leaving audiences “stunned” and prompting widespread backlash online.
On a Sunday evening when Rev. Chuck Currie and his family sat down to watch Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” the movie didn’t start the way he expected. Before the pre-film trailers, a 90-second promotional spot touting the U.S. Department of War played in the theater.
Currie, a minister in the United Church of Christ in Portland, described the moment as jarring and said the reaction from those seated around him was immediate. “The audience was stunned,” he said, calling the video “a propaganda piece promoting Trump and the MAGA agenda.”
His complaint has since moved beyond a single theater trip. Currie wrote to Regal Theaters, posted his letter on social media, and his posts drew hundreds of thousands of responses across several platforms. He also said the audience “loudly booed” the spot.
In his letter, Currie demanded that Regal “immediately stop showing” the video, which he described bluntly as “a propaganda video. Nothing more, nothing less.” He also warned that democracies don’t operate like that. “It was like we were at a movie theater in Russia or North Korea,” Currie wrote. “Democracies do not do this.”.
The promotional content he objected to is a War Department video titled “Peace Through Strength.” Currie said it was played before the film’s trailers at Regal during his visit. The video includes dramatic music. a fist-pumping War Secretary Pete Hegseth. and a voiceover of President Donald Trump saying. “If you attack the United States of America. we will hunt you down.”.
Trump’s broader role in reshaping the Pentagon’s branding adds another layer to the controversy. President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use “Department of War” as a secondary name for the Pentagon. The War Department “Peace Through Strength” video has also been played during the White House’s $60 million UFC Freedom 250 exhibition.
Regal Entertainment, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, is one of the largest theater operators in the United States, with nearly 5,400 screens in 41 states. The company aired the UFC event live in theaters. Regal did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
Currie said he expects Regal to take action after the online reaction to his posts. “We routinely see videos at Regal promoting careers in the military,” his letter stated. “This was not that.” In a separate remark. he said he had yet to receive any response from Regal. even as he remained hopeful because of the volume of comments.
He also linked the ad to politics and war strategy. Currie called the decision to show the video “an endorsement of Donald Trump, his failed war in Iran and the white Christian nationalism advocated by Secretary Hegseth.”
The video itself includes additional lines from Trump, including a vow to “lead the world to peace” through “power and might,” along with “Our friends will respect us, our enemies will fear us and the whole world will admire the unrivaled greatness of the U.S. military.”
In his posts, Currie said other people had described similar experiences. He told the outlet that many commenters said they had seen the exact same video in Regal theaters during the past week, and he argued it “would be a mistake for Regal and other theaters not to respond.”
Some of the backlash pointed beyond Regal. Currie said some commenters reported that another chain’s management had been quick to pull the spot after public backlash, while others said they would stop frequenting Regal theaters altogether.
For Currie. the issue is not just whether the clip is theatrical—it’s what it represents on the big screen. His demand is clear and time-specific: he wants Regal to stop showing the “Peace Through Strength” advertisement immediately. and he is pushing the theater operator to respond while the controversy is still spreading.
Regal Theaters Department of War Pete Hegseth Donald Trump executive order War Department video Peace Through Strength UFC Freedom 250 “Disclosure Day” Steven Spielberg movie theater promotional video controversy