A screening of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” was disrupted on opening night Friday at the Moviehouse & Eatery by Cinépolis in Austin, Texas after a moviegoer released a live bat inside the theater. Annelise Holyoak, a spokesperson at Cinépolis, confirmed the news with CBS Austin and said the moviegoer was pulling a prank and not trying to actively harm anyone.
“Local animal control was immediately contacted, and they have been overseeing the situation to ensure guest, associate and animal safety,” Holyoak said in a statement. “To ensure a prank like this does not again occur, we’ve added additional security and are checking all bags upon guest entry.”
Video of the prank shared with CBS Austin showed movie theater staff explaining to guests how they planned to get the bat out of the theater. One staff member is heard saying, “We will use the projector to turn that [movie screen] light off and I’m gonna turn all these lights off and try and get it to go into this lighted [exit] area. If you are uncomfortable being in the dark with a bat, please remove yourself now.”
Moviegoers in attendance at “The Batman” screening were offered full refunds because of the prank. The theater said that the majority of viewers in attendance decided to stay and finish the film with the bat still in the theater.
“The Batman” started its box office run in the U.S. with a sturdy $138 million, above original estimates of $128.5 million. Those ticket sales rank as the best opening of 2022, as well as only the second pandemic-era movie to cross the $100 million mark in a single weekend following “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Internationally, “The Batman” earned $120 million from 74 overseas market for a total global haul of $254 million after its first weekend in release.