Clean thing: The large hall of the CineStar Metropolis in Frankfurt – before a performance. Bild: Jonas Wresch
After cinema-goers rioted in several cities in the film “Creed III”, the cinema operators brought out the heavier artillery – also in the Rhine-Main region.
Popcorn is flying, nachos are being crushed on the cinema seats and people are constantly getting up in front of the screen – this has been the case more frequently at screenings of the film “Creed III” in recent days. Particularly disturbing news came from Bremen and Essen, where the police had to move out to put an end to the rioting in the cinemas. But also from Sulzbach, Hanau and Darmstadt there have been reports that showings of the Rocky series film have been disrupted.
The cinema operator Kinopolis from Darmstadt confirmed when asked that “a few performances in our Kinopolis locations had to be briefly interrupted last weekend due to unrest”. But the performances shouldn’t have been cancelled. “The situation was solved and calmed down every time.” However, the pollution is enormous – that means “a considerable additional effort for us in the subsequent cleaning of the halls”.
Other cinema chains also had incidents during the film. Oliver Fock, the managing director of the CineStar cinemas, put the number of disruptions at two in the nationwide 598 cinemas in the chain.
Ban from the house, security, and an increase in FSK
CineStar, CineMaxx and Kinopolis report that they reacted to the inappropriate behavior of the visitors: “For the upcoming screenings, we have now planned additional security at some locations and are on the lookout for suspicious people in advance. We also reserve the right to issue house bans in the event of misconduct and, if necessary, to make claims for damages,” says CineStar. CineMaxx also wants to use more security personnel. In addition, one can “restrict capacity in the corresponding cinemas, introduce the applicable rules of conduct in the cinema before the film starts and increase the FSK” if it appears necessary at the location. This has already happened in Hamm in North Rhine-Westphalia: According to media reports, a cinema operator raised the minimum age to see the film from twelve to 18 years.
more on the subject
According to the spokeswoman, Kinopolis will also “massively increase security checks before and during the performances of Creed III”. Disturbing or conspicuous guests will be denied access to the performances or expel them from the hall without paying back the entrance fee. On social media, the cinema operator calls for more “respect” so that the “movie night becomes a pleasant experience for everyone”.
According to media reports, after their operations, the police suspected a TikTok challenge behind the rioting in this film of all places. Because many young people put the described scenes on the Internet. The assumption is that the point is to bring a performance to an end and to film it. However, the spokeswoman for Kinopolis in Darmstadt rejects this idea: “We don’t see any trend on TikTok – rather the film seems to appeal to an age group for which TikTok is an important part of everyday life.” The young people recorded everything that happened to them in the seem important in everyday life. In addition, the platform does not specifically call for polluting the cinema halls.
