A heated confrontation ensued between cinema staff and two women who had brought food for their children inside, and eventually the police were called to remove the cinema-goers.
A video on TikTok captured the skirmish at Cinema 3 in the New Zealand town of Pukekohe, near Auckland, on Tuesday.
“Let’s call the police,” a staff member can be heard saying in the darkened room, where the film can be heard in the background and children cry.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay, my baby,” said a woman’s voice.
“I want my mother,” sobbed one child.
“You have no right to tell a five-year-old to cry,” said another woman’s voice.
Off-camera, a staff member was heard saying, “They’re not leaving.”
“You’re not going to throw us out, we’re not dogs,” said one woman as she tried to calm the crying children.
The clip, which was posted to an account that is now private, included an explanatory video.
Movie theater staff called police after moviegoers were caught bringing their own snacks for their children
“Yes, we bought snacks for the kids,” the caption read.
‘When we had to put them away, we agreed. But we’re not going to stop the children from eating.
“A baby asked, ‘Are the police going to kill my mom?’ To which my buddy replied, ‘Maybe.’
‘Reading previous customer reviews on Google, we should have known better.’
A second video of the incident, which was removed on Wednesday, showed cinema director Robert Greig.
“We can’t really function as a business if we let people bring their own food and drink,” he is heard saying.
An off-screen voice asks if he will give the money back “while we’re dealing with the police.”
A police officer can also be seen in the background.
Social media users were divided over the incident, with some saying that the cinema’s rules should be followed, while others said they also brought food to the cinema (stock photo)
Mr Greig told the New Zealand Herald That was not present on Tuesday when staff called him about a “developing incident” involving customers bringing “a lot” of food from outside.
“Drinks, snacks, hot food, you name it,” he said.
He said staff had asked the group to put the food away or leave the cinema and get their money back, but the situation “escalated”.
Mr Greig said he could not accurately recount all the conversations between his staff and the group as he could only gather second-hand that his employees “felt unsafe”.
“Comments were made to them that made them very angry,” he said.
After Mr. Greig intervened, the group agreed to leave the theater and resolve the matter in the lobby.
“By that point, the police had actually already been called. And they came shortly after,” Mr Greig said.
“This is the first time we’ve had to call the police.”
A police spokesperson told the New Zealand Herald that they received a report at around 4.45pm on Tuesday of two women refusing to leave the premises.
“Our employees arrived on scene and caught the pair, after which they left without further incident,” the spokesperson said.
The incident took place at Cinema 3 in the New Zealand town of Pukekohe, near Auckland
In New Zealand cinemas, the standard policy is to prohibit the consumption of outside food during screenings.
At Cinema 3 there are five signs on the premises that read ‘Outside food and drink are not allowed’.
He defended the policy, arguing that it was crucial to keeping the cinema financially viable.
“If we don’t have this policy and enforce it, we might as well go out of business. We wouldn’t be able to survive on ticket sales,” he said.
“We have now reached the point where we certainly cannot increase our prices anymore.”
Opinions on the Franklin Grapevine community Facebook page were divided about the incident.
Some called it a “waste of police resources” and said the movie snacks were too expensive.
Others, however, felt it was important to follow the rules.
Some admitted to sneaking food into the cinema, with one even boasting of bringing ‘a whole pie’.