This movie theater chain won’t be so “Popular” anymore.
Overly zealous “Wicked” fans who paint themselves to match Elphaba’s shade of green are likely to be barred from entering the theater, as two unfortunate AMC ticket holders discovered.
This week, Jamie Forst went to her local AMC theater in Burbank, Calif., dressed in pink like Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, while her friend emulated Elphaba, playing by Cynthia Erivo, by painting her face green. Upon arriving, they were not allowed into the theater to view the blockbuster musical.
“PSA: DO NOT SHOW UP TO AN AMC WEARING FACE PAINT THEY WILL NOT LET YOU IN,” Forst captioned the TikTok clip, which showed her pal frantically scrubbing her face with a paper towel.
The video, which has been viewed 20 million times in a matter of days, is not an isolated incident.
“This is the dumbest rule I’ve ever heard,” content creator Celine Serrano lamented in a TikTok this week. “Apparently AMC won’t let you put face paint on, so they’re gonna make me wash it off in the bathroom — whatever.”
In the caption, she claimed that she had seen other movie-goers on the app attend showings at AMC donning face paint, asking “why not me?”
Under both videos, viewers were quick to inform others that the rule is actually a long-standing policy of the movie theater chain.
“As a movie theatre employee, it’s bc of the dark knight incident,” explained one person, referencing the 2012 mass shooting that occurred during a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Colorado, claiming multiple lives and injuring dozens.
“We’ve had to be extra cautious, especially since the new joker movie and smile 2 coming out.”
“As an AMC manager it depends on building to building,” another wrote.
Some users even claimed they had previously been permitted to wear face paint to theaters for other films.
“Me bright blue walking into amc for inside out 2….” one person quipped.
“I watched joker with my face painted whatttt,” another gobsmacked viewer commented.
“I wore clown makeup to see terrifier,” someone else said.
Despite not being removed from the theater, it is against theater policy to wear face paint, per company policy.
“Face paint, helmets and full masks or hoods that obscure the face are prohibited,” the online AMC policy page reads. Similarly, Regal movie theaters enforce the same rules.
