‘Oblivious’ parents bring toddler to Avatar screening | Films | Entertainment

For people with young children, a trip to the cinema can be a rare treat. But two parents have been branded “selfishly oblivious to others around them” for bringing their toddler to a showing of the latest Avatar blockbuster. One Reddit user posted on the social media platform saying they had just been to the cinema to see the latest film in the sci-fi series, only to have their viewing disrupted by a very young child.

Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in director James Cameron’s multi-billion dollar franchise, was released last month, and clocks in at a massive three hours and 17 minutes. It is rated 12A, meaning children younger than 12 are allowed to see it in the cinema, as long as they are accompanied by an adult. According to the British Board of Film Classification, which is responsible for rating films, it contains “violence, threat, injury detail, brief suicide references, drugs, (and) language”.

The Reddit post was titled: “Someone just took their 2/3 year old toddler into a screening of Avatar. What’s the weirdest/worst thing you’ve experienced at a cinema?”

In the post the user wrote: “I mean who the hell takes a two year old to a 3.5 hour showing? The kid was babbling, talking, and squawking through most of the film, and the parents were very surprised when people had a go at them.

“I don’t get how some people can be so selfishly oblivious to others around them. Which got me thinking other people must have had some other wonderful experiences at cinemas?”

Reddit users added their own horror stories. One wrote: “Just me and my partner in the cinema, waiting for the film to start, we’re basically in the centre. Another couple comes in, one has big hair, like tall.

“They come and sit right in front of us, the hair blocking a section of the screen. So we get up and move over a few rows. Then they do the same, moving right in front of us again.”

Another said: “Went to see the first of the new Star Wars trilogy on the day it came out. A couple had brought their baby who couldn’t have been older than one.

“The moment the theme tune started rolling the opening credits, the baby burst into tears. And I s*** you not, within five seconds a man turned round and shouted something like ‘SHUT UP WHO TAKES A F****** BABY TO THE CINEMA’ and they both quickly scurried out.”

Someone else wrote: “When I went to see the 8pm Avengers: Infinity War showing, a dad brought two toddlers and let them both run around, up and down the rows, the whole time.”

And a different user simply said: “The sound – and smell – of someone slowly peeling an egg. It’s just not cinema food.”

The Avatar series featured in a number of stories, including one in which the user wrote: “I saw Avatar at the IMAX in Sydney whilst on holiday there. They stopped the film partway through to allow the police to make an arrest.

“The suspect was unwilling so was dragged bodily over several rows of seats. Everyone cheered when we were allowed to get back to the film.”

Another said: “Went to see Avatar last week, a couple spent the whole film wearing 3D glasses. It was not a 3D screening. Me and my husband couldn’t stop laughing. They must’ve thought not only was it the worst 3D ever but also really dark.”

Someone else simply said: “In Pirates of the Caribbean 2 I was sitting behind someone who was trying to set fire to their trousers.”

Adding to their post later, the original user wrote: “It’s like the Wild West out there!!”