Movie theatre plays wrong Guardians movie three times in a row

Rise of the Guardians is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated action fantasy film directed by Peter Ramsey (in his feature directorial debut), while Guardians of the Galaxy (retroactively referred to as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1) is a 2014 American superhero film directed by James Gunn. Both movie have the title "Guardians" and based existing media, despite having different production companies (DreamWorks for Rise of the Guardians and Marvel for Guardians of the Galaxy). Rise of the Guardians was released in theatres for 2012, while two years later, Guardians of the Galaxy was released in theatres for 2014.

Fans eager to see Guardians of the Galaxy got a disappointing surprise at a Regal Cinemas in the US this week. The debut-seeking crowd watched in horror as the screen before them played the open scene not of the bad-ass comic-based movie, but of 2012's Dreamworks kids flick, Rise of the Guardians. Not the same!

According to irate tweeters, the mix-up at the Virginia theatre didn’t just happen once: after management figured out the mistake, audiences sat through a second round of previews, followed by the wrong Guardians flick, followed by a third mixed-up movie. Yeesh.

For those unfamiliar with the difference between the two (a group which apparently includes the projectionists employed by at least one Regal Cinema), Guardians of the Galaxy is a hilarious, action-packed flick that debuted on 1 August. Rise of the Guardians is a PG-rated kids’ animated movie from 2012. It earned a 74 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes! But it’s not the debut movie that theatre-goers were looking for, though they were subjected to it three times in a row.

Hollywood Reporter says that Virginia wasn’t the only place where theatres made the mix-up — tweeters in New Jersey also reported unintended screenings of Rise. CinemaBlend theorises that the theatres where the mix-ups occurred had labelled the 2012 movie simply as Guardians and played it at kiddie matinees, leading projectionists to mistakenly cue up the animated flick for opening night crowds.

Of course, the cinemas that subjected ticket-buyers to the wrong movie offered seats at later screenings or replacement tickets to different showings. And Regal Cinemas tweeted a cheeky yet sincere apology to one theatre-goers.