Since the theatrical release on 1is march of the american franchise Creed 3, which totaled more than 1.5 million admissions in France, several incidents disrupted screenings in France and Europe. Incivility sometimes turning into a fight was filmed and shared on social networks. A few dozen rowdy scenes were reported. In France, the regional daily press lists them day following day, from the Lido of Saint-Raphaël (Var) to the Kinepolis of Thionville (Moselle) via the Megarama of Saint-Etienne. The German and Swiss press report similar facts in Hamburg and Zurich.
Throwing popcorn or stones, insults and fights: the degree of violence of the incidents varies from one room to another. For several room managers interviewed, the phenomenon is not unusual. One of them, who prefers to remain anonymous, recalls having experienced similar incidents in the 1990s “for action and horror films”. The testimonies show that the disorder arises, most of the time, in reaction to incivility. A young spectator telephones during a session. He draws the wrath of the other spectators. The disturbance spreads in the room. The tumult sets in, sometimes turns into a brawl. “These are banal incivilities of everyday life”relativizes a professional in the sector.
Residual and circumscribed phenomenon
Videos relayed on TikTok and Twitter offer a glimpse of the tumult. In one of them, two young girls seated one behind the other noisily tear each other apart. The light is on and the sound of the movie is muted. The session has just been interrupted. A disoriented security guard seeks to calm both sides. A mother inveighs once morest her: “There are children down there! » In another video, two young people fight with their bare hands, surrounded by a swarm of spectators. As the credits roll, the film seems to drag on.
Overflows concern a marginal number of screenings compared to the total number of theaters showing the film. According to Warner Bros, its distributor, Creed 3 was broadcast in 619 cinemas in France and screened 14,533 times during the second week of programming. The police intervened in some cinemas. In Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes), two young men were placed in police custody for violence in a meeting. But the phenomenon remains residual and circumscribed. Few cinemas reported incidents during the screenings.
When scuffles occur, cinemas put the session on hold, or interrupt it. As a precaution, anticipating violence, some have chosen to deprogram the film, such as the Ciné Center de Dreux (Eure-et-Loir), or to retransmit it in the original version with subtitles, to dissuade young people reluctant to VO to attend it. Others have decided to employ more staff, such as the Ferney-Voltaire cinema (Ain), so as not to have to give up, because of disruptive elements, a box office success.