The Batman Screening Gets Interrupted By An Actual Bat

thegamer.com:

The Batman is a good movie, but you know what would make it even better? If there were actual bats in the theatre. Wait, no, that’d be a health hazard, which is why a cinema in Austin Texas actually paused a screening of The Batman when a bat started flying around the theater mid-movie.

According to a report from KXAN Austin, Moviehouse & Eatery by Cinépolis in northwest Austin was forced to pause its 7 PM showing of The Batman when a real-life bat was noticed by theatergoers. Management made “multiple attempts” to capture the bat themselves, but failed. Local animal control was eventually called to remove the bat, but only after the movie had finished.

Related: What To Watch, Listen To, And Play After The Batman

Management offered to refund everyone’s ticket and even cover their food tabs, but the majority of the crowd actually opted to finish watching the movie, “bat and all.” How’s that for authenticity?

You can see the bat flying around in a video posted to Twitter from user @Jeremiah24. Theater management believe that the bat was brought in as a prank and didn’t just fly in through the vents, although nobody quite knows for sure.

“To ensure a prank like this does not again occur, we will be adding additional security and checking all bags upon guest entry,” Heidi Deno, the general manager, told KXAN. In a later interview, Deno told the Associated Press than the theater was “adding additional security and checking all bags upon guest entry.”

The Associated Press notes than less than 1% of all bats have rabies, so there was very little threat to moviegoers from the bat. Honestly, the bat was likely just terrified of suddenly being in an enclosed space with no visible exits. That and being forced to endure the