“The Batman” movie is finally here and DC fans have booked their tickets the second pre-orders were available. Now, it’s one thing being late to watch the movie you bought tickets for, but it’s another thing when the cinema decided to restart the whole movie due to “VIPs” running late.
TGV Cinemas at Vivacity in Kuching issued an apology yesterday after it was reported that the screening for “The Batman” movie restarted after 45 minutes. “This incident does not adhere with our screening SOPs as all our movie sessions are to run on time as per schedule,” TGV said in a statement posted on Twitter. TGV Cinemas also offered 2 complimentary tickets and full refunds to all impacted guests as a token of apology.
Minmin and the team are investigating this matter guys, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/6LHlqnx9oA
— TGV Cinemas 🇲🇾 (@TGVCinemas) March 6, 2022
Facebook user, Fazillah Raduan who was there during the incident, shared the experience on his page. According to Fazillah, the movie had already been rolling for about 45 minutes until a staff member came in, paused the movie and made an announcement.
When asked, the staff member answered that there were customers who were late. This angered a lot of people who came to watch the movie at the chosen time that best suited their schedule but had to endure another 45 minutes due to these so-called VIPs. Netizens including social media influencer, Ceddy expressed their opinions on the matter on Twitter:
Seriously even if you’re some anak menteri, the fact that you are watching the movie in a regular hall then act like a regular person. And EVEN if you’re in Indulge/Aurumn pun you don’t get to ask for a restart just because you’re late, people pay just like you lah. Fuckers.
— Ceddy (@CeddyOrNot) March 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/zhafvlog/status/1500397642173788164?s=20&t=l_HMN124_5ypgYM8X8AKIg
Netizens weighed in on the original Facebook post and one user commented that he was one of the customers who came late. According to him, the movie restarting was probably not due to VIPs running late but a miscommunication on the staff’s end.
The user commented that the late customers actually came on time to watch the movie but was told by the staff that it was being delayed and asked to come back at a later time. When they returned at said later time, they discovered that the movie had already been playing for 45 minutes.
Mystery solved, probably? Maybe pic.twitter.com/tJXZYEK5XX
— #ZHAFVLOG (@zhafvlog) March 6, 2022
A spokesman for TGV told Malay Mail that the company is aware of the incident and is currently investigating the matter. “We definitely do not cater to people coming in late, this is not the standard practice. We’re investigating the matter as we speak. It could have been a technical issue and maybe the message wasn’t conveyed properly,” they said.
So far, there has been no further updates from TGV Cinemas on whether it was a case of miscommunication among staff or actual VIPs running late to see the movie.
UPDATE
TGV Cinemas posted an official statement on Twitter earlier today at 1:39pm to give an update on their investigation. The company clarified that there were no late arrivals of VIPs as speculated and that the delays were due to technical issues and miscommunication among staff.
— TGV Cinemas 🇲🇾 (@TGVCinemas) March 7, 2022
Sources: MalayMail, TheSunDaily
