Two moviegoers got an extra taste of action Tuesday night — and not just from their choice to view “Captain America: Brave New World.”
During a showing of the latest Marvel flick at Liberty Cinema in downtown Wenatchee, Washington, the ceiling of the theater collapsed onto the audience, local officials said.
Wenatchee Fire Department responded to the collapse at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, finding two people in attendance. The department said in a statement that no injuries were reported.
“Talk about an interactive movie experience… just not the kind you want!” the department said in a statement.
Photos from the first responders show the movie still projected on the screen, but with a heap of snapped planks and ceiling tiles covering the front of the theater. A video from the fire department shows the spread of long, wooden planks poking up towards the now-gaping ceiling.
Sun Basin Theatres, which owns the downtown Wenatchee cinema, told NBC News that the collapse was “unexpected.”
“We are all grateful that no one was injured when this occurred on Tuesday evening,” spokesperson Bryan Cook said in a statement.
Cook added that the theater’s team is working with local authorities “to ensure a thorough investigation” to figure out what caused the ceiling to come crashing down.
Wenatchee Valley Fire Department Battalion Chief Cam Phillips responded to the scene on Tuesday night, telling NBC News affiliate King5 that a couple had the theater to themselves before the untimely collapse.
“They heard some pops and cracking and the gentleman stood up and took a peek,” Phillips told King5. “[He] walked up toward the screen and as he looked up, he said, ‘Run!’”
Phillips added that the man’s girlfriend didn’t have time to react before the ceiling started to fall down around her, leaving her to be found covered in debris in her seat just one row behind the jumble of wood and insulation.
“We are really fortunate that this didn’t happen on a Friday night or a Saturday night when the theater was full,” Phillips told King5.
The battalion chief told King5 that the pair is lucky to have made it out unharmed, adding that “this was a best case scenario on a bad situation.”
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