A mother has vowed legal action against cinema chain Cineworld after trailers for horror films were shown in front of a screening of Lilo & Stitch that she and her children attended.
The Disney remake is a U certificate, but Jenny Ellice claims age-inappropriate trailers were played in front of the family-friendly film when she attended a screening with husband Rob and sons Max and Bertie, who are four and five years old respectively. The 4DX screening took place at the Enfield, North London branch of Cineworld on June 7.
“The first one was Jurassic World, and I thought ‘that seems a bit off’, but I thought it could be a U film like Lilo & Stitch” she told Metro. ‘The seats move really violently and my boys like dinosaurs so it’s fine. The next one was M3gan, and I was sure that wasn’t a PG – it got really graphic really quickly”.
Ellice says the family left before the film started, and claims the clips had a traumatising effect on her children. “Max has been waking up screaming and Rob said to his teacher yesterday that he was scared from the cinema… you just don’t know with kids, they’re like sponges, you think they’re not listening, but they are”.
She continued: ‘They were pretty graphic trailers. There was swearing and screaming in them – my eldest was rigid with fear. I had my hands over their eyes. I had no idea why they were showing these trailers for a U movie – these are four-year-olds exposed to graphic swearing and violence. They were terrified”.
According to Ellice’s account, Cineworld staff apologised and offered free tickets. When she contacted the chain on social media, she says she was informed there would be no action beyond the offer of the tickets, and decided to take legal advice.
“If they had just put me in touch with someone from head office then it would show they care” she said. “We have sent a letter from our solicitors who will likely be making a complaint to Enfield council and the film licensing/rating body. I want to ensure this never happens again as the cinema are not taking it seriously at all”.
According to the British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC) website, the film’s alluded to – Jurassic World Rebirth, and M3gan 2.0, are rated 12A and 15 respectively.
Behaviour in cinemas became a talking point earlier this year following the release of A Minecraft Movie, when footage of audiences making noise and throwing popcorn circulated online. The phenomenon led to cinemas organising special screenings that encouraged participation.