‘Annabelle’ has been withdrawn from French cinemas after sparking riots.
The horror film about a demonic doll – which stars ‘X-Men: First Class’ actress Annabelle Wallis and ‘True Blood’ star Alfre Woodard – has been a huge hit internationally but has had to be taken off screens in France after teenagers watching it at a number of cinemas across the country started fights in the audience, The Times newspaper reports.
Didier Tarizzo, who owns the Les 3 Palmes cinema in Marseilles, says over a thousand people turned up for a screening on Saturday (11.10.14) despite there only being 450 seats.
He said: "Some didn’t have the most elementary notion of how to behave.
"They were throwing popcorn and talking at the top of their voices or walking round."
Mr. Tarizzo says he decided to stop showing the film because "it’s not up to me to teach young people how to respect the law".
He added: "What worried me was that a cinemagoer irritated by all the noise could have had a go at an adolescent."
Following a number of incidents in which the film’s core audience of under 16s began throwing insults and popcorn at each other, as well as ripping up theatre seats and starting fights, film critic Alain Grasset said ‘Annabelle’ attracted a "very young audience for whom the film represents a way to let their hair down".
Annabelle withdrawn from French cinemas after riots
