“Crazy” AMC moviegoers turned away over green face paint
News

“Crazy” AMC moviegoers turned away over green face paint

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

This cinema chain will no longer be as “popular”.

Overzealous “Wicked” fans who paint themselves to match Elphaba’s shade of green will likely be barred from the theater, two unfortunate AMC ticket holders found out.

This week, Jamie Forst walked into her local AMC Theater in Burbank, California dressed in pink like Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, while her friend Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, mimicked by painting her face green. When they arrived, they were not allowed into the theater to watch the blockbuster musical.

Frost’s friend had to scrub off her face paint before the “Wicked” screening at AMC. TikTok/jamieforst
Serrano was also turned away from the theater. TikTok/celineserrano84

“PSA: Don’t show up to an AMC wearing face paint, they won’t let you in,” Forst captioned the TikTok clip, which showed her friend frantically scrubbing her face with a paper towel.

The video, which was viewed 20 million times within a few days, is not an isolated incident.

“This is the dumbest rule I’ve ever heard,” complained content creator Celine Serrano in a TikTok this week. “Apparently AMC won’t let you put on face paint, so I’ll have to wash it off in the bathroom – whatever.”

In the caption, she claimed she saw other moviegoers on the app attending screenings at AMC, putting on makeup and asking, “Why not me?”

In both videos, viewers were quick to alert others that the rule was actually a long-standing policy of the theater chain.

“As a movie theater employee, this is due to the Dark Knight incident,” one person explained, referencing the 2012 mass shooting during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Colorado that left several people dead and dozens dead were injured.

“We had to be extra careful, especially since the new Joker movie and Smile 2 came out.”

“As an AMC manager it comes from building to building,” wrote another.

Some users even said they had previously been allowed to wear face paint in theaters for other films.

“I’m bright blue walking into AMC for Inside Out 2…” one person quipped.

“I watched Joker with his face made up, whatever,” another stunned viewer commented.

“I wore clown makeup to see the horror,” someone else said.

The highly anticipated film adaptation of the Broadway musical was wildly popular at the box office, grossing $46 million on its opening day. AP

Although wearing face paint is not banned from the theater, it is against theater policy, according to company policy.

“Face paint, helmets, and full masks or hoods that obscure the face are prohibited,” the AMC’s online policy page states. The same rules also apply in the Regal cinemas.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *