A foul odor repeatedly filled a Colombian movie theater causing the audience to evacuate mid-screening.
A Spider-Man: Brand New Day screening in Cartagena, Colombia faced an unplanned evacuation on Sunday night after a rogue smell drove hundreds of audience members straight out of the auditorium.
The incident happened at the Cine Colombia multiplex inside Plaza Bocagrande shopping center on August 2, roughly halfway through the film. Theing reports suggested it was either a deliberate prank involving a stink bomb or fart spray, or an audience member who simply couldn’t make it to the restroom in time
Video posted to X by @ExxAlerts showed fans streaming into the corridor, many with hands covering their noses. The account captioned the clip: “ALERT: ‘Horrific fart attack’ sent moviegoers running out of the theater in the middle of the new ‘Spider-Man.'”
Cinema staff did not officially cancel the screening, and the multiplex’s other auditoriums kept running without interruption. No injuries were reported. Some viewers eventually attempted to return and finish the film, though most did not make it back before the credits rolled, according to the New York Post.
A person in a Spider-Man cosplay suit was captured in the evacuation footage, standing in the hallway alongside the fleeing crowd. The cosplayer later entertained displaced moviegoers in the lobby while the situation sorted itself out.
The chaos comes as Brand New Day is deep into one of the biggest box office runs in film history. The Destin Daniel Cretton-directed sequel, which stars Tom Holland and Zendaya alongside new additions including Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, and Liza Colón-Zayas, pulled in $169.8 million on its opening day after a record $72 million in previews. Worldwide, the film has collected $927 million in ticket sales, placing it second only to Avengers: Endgame‘s $1.2 billion opening weekend haul.
