New footage has emerged of a violent brawl involving a machete which broke out at a Vue cinema in Birmingham last week.
The mindless violence began at a screening of the gang movie Blue Story which led to five teenagers being arrested and the film pulled from all Vue theatres.
Shocking footage recorded at the scene shows more than a dozen teens pushing each other as one person appears to swing a machete, while a member of staff tries disperse the crowd.
Shocking footage recorded at the scene shows more than a dozen teens pushing each other, while one person appears to swing the machete as a member of staff tries disperse the crowd
A number of police officers rushed to the area after being called at 5.30pm on Saturday
Vue decided to stop showing the film – directed by Andrew Onwubolu – on Sunday after 25 ‘significant incidents’ were reported at its venues within 24 hours of the movie’s release.
The most noteworthy flashpoint was when the 100-strong machete-wielding gang descended on a Birmingham screening at Star City cinema, which led to five teenagers being arrested.
Families were at the Nechells multiplex in Star City for the first opening Saturday of Frozen II when the machete-wielding gang turned up.
People were evacuated as Vue cinema managers closed the venue.
After the police swarmed the building around 5.30pm that day, they seized two machetes and a knife from a nearby roundabout.
The most noteworthy flashpoint was when a 100-strong machete-wielding gang descended on a Birmingham screening at Star City cinema on Saturday, which led to five teenagers being arrested
The message from Vue reportedly said: ‘We regret that we will no longer be screening the film Blue Story (pictured) at any of our venues’
Police rushed to the scene with guard dogs where they found a crowd of 100 people where fighting had started ‘in pockets’. It is also claimed that officers were carrying tasers
BBC Films described the film as an ‘outstanding, critically acclaimed debut feature which powerfully depicts the futility of gang violence.
‘It’s an important film from one of the UK’s most exciting new filmmakers which we’re proud to be part of.’
The film’s distributor, Paramount Pictures, said it was ‘saddened’ by events at Star City, but that it thinks Blue Story is ‘an important film’ that has had ‘incredibly positive reaction and fantastic reviews’.
A spokesman for Showcase Cinemas said: ‘The safety of our guests is of the utmost importance.
‘Due to the recent incidents tied to screenings of the film ‘Blue Story’, after careful consideration with the film’s distributor, Showcase Cinemas has immediately removed the film from our all of our participating cinemas.’
According to Birmingham Live, the message from Vue said: ‘We regret that we will no longer be screening the film Blue Story at any of our venues.
‘Should you have a booking for this film, please say cancellation when prompted and a member of our team will be with you shortly to assist you with your booking.’
A spokesman added: ‘We can confirm a decision was made to remove the film.
‘The safety and welfare of our customers and staff is always our first priority.’
Blue Story is a tragic tale of a friendship between Timmy and Marco, two young boys from warring postcodes in London who become friends but get caught up in gang violence.
Pockets of fighting erupted in a 100-strong crowd at the cinema after a ‘group of people arrived with machetes’.
Blue Story director Andrew Onwubolu, known as Rapman, (left) has said the gang film is about ‘love not violence’, after seven police officers were injured in a disturbance at a screening (right)
Police officers were assaulted as they descended on the scene armed with guard dogs. They had tasers, but police said they were not used.
Shocking footage from another angle shows young women appearing to push each other as officers try to get control of the situation.
Flashing blue lights are also seen as a group of at least eight officers stands on the pavement outside in front of a large crowd.
Elsewhere, itt emerged on Tuesday that an Odeon was forced to halt a screening after a fight broke out in the audience – 24 hours before the brawl in Birmingham.
At least one man was injured, according to a witness and staff evacuated the audience before letting them back in 20 minutes later and handing out free soft drinks.
One man was reportedly cut under the eye and another moviegoer was spotted with his bloody knuckles wrapped up.
A 24-year-old man and his girlfriend were among those at the 9.40pm Friday screening of the movie at the Odeon Wimbledon.
The next night teens wielding machetes were seen at a screening in Birmingham and the Vue cinema chain has now pulled the film from its schedules.
The man, who chose to remain anonymous, said the whole thing was ‘a bit strange.’
He added: ‘They evacuated the screening room and then after like 20 minutes they cleaned up the massive mess that got made in the part where the fight broke out and restarted the film.
‘I saw some guys leaving and one guy was saying he’d got a cut under his eye.
‘And a guy in my row when we came back in had his knuckles wrapped up and looked like he’d been bleeding.’
The 24-year-old added: ‘Afterwards the staff were comping everyone drinks and everyone was having them.’
A spokesman for the Met police confirmed they arrived at the cinema in The Broadway shortly after being called.
He said: ‘We were called to the Wimbledon Odeon to reports of a group of kids fighting.
‘Police attended within minutes and no one was at the location. No victims were there and there are no suspects.’
A spokesperson on Twitter said ‘after careful consideration’ they would not be pulling the film from its theatres.
The statement said: ‘After careful consideration, we will continue to play Blue Story at select ODEON cinemas. The safety of our guests is our number one priority & we will continue to monitor throughout the week.’
