Police operation in Essen - cinema-goers riot until the film stops

In a cinema in Essen (North Rhine-Westphalia), visitors rioted on Saturday evening until a film screening was stopped. Guests got up during the performance and climbed over the seats, the police said. The staff stopped the film and ordered the 440 viewers out of the hall.

According to the police, there could be a connection with a trend on the short video platform Tiktok. Videos of the self-inflicted disturbances were shared there and received a lot of attention. WELT discovered Tiktok clips on similar incidents in Bremen, Wiesbaden, Hamburg and Berlin-Neukölln under the keyword "Creed III demolition", but the disruptions to the films remained - with the exception of Bremen - apparently without police involvement.

Different in Essen: According to the police, the guests also threw snacks through the cinema hall. "Since the mood was heated and almost 40 visitors still didn't want to leave the cinema, several police patrol cars arrived," the statement said. The officials had enforced the house rules of the cinema. WDR and RTL reported extensively on the incident.

According to the Essen police, some visitors showed “such antisocial behavior that should lead to a movie being canceled. "The fact that this spoils the evening for many decent people does not seem to interest the budding 'social media stars' and would-be 'influencers' in the slightest," criticized the police.

According to the information, no criminal offenses were found in the incident in Essen. However, claims for damages could be asserted. Similar scenes were also reported from a cinema in Bremen.

Several young visitors threw popcorn and nachos at each other on Saturday evening, the police in the Hanseatic city said. There had been "fighting and riots" inside and outside the cinema. The film screenings were cancelled. According to the police, a "large contingent" was deployed.

There was also rioting in cinemas in neighboring France. According to media reports, since the release of "Creed III" there have already been several police operations due to clashes between young people in French cinemas. According to the police, the incident in Essen also happened during a screening of "Creed III". The Bremen police, on the other hand, did not provide any information about the film shown.

On Saturday afternoon, among other things, there was a fight in a large cinema in the south-eastern French city of Saint-Étienne. According to the police and the cinema operator, the performance was canceled and the hall cleared. The police arrested 20 of the 300 spectators, an employee of the cinema told the AFP news agency.

"We have not been able to restore calm," he added. The police had to intervene to stop the clashes that involved throwing bottles. A bottle hit a security guard on the head, the cinema representative said. On the same day, arrests were also made in the north-eastern French cities of Thionville and Charleville-Mézières for rioting in cinemas.