Joker Movie Screening in Paris Forced to Evacuate After Audience Member Screams 'Allahu Akbar'

It's been a while since Joker's premiere, but it looks like the film's managed to find itself in the middle of trouble in Paris. A Parisian theater was forced to evacuate a screening of Todd Phillip's gritty character study of Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime when an audience member decided to disrupt the film.

According to a report by Le Parisien, the film was screening in Grand Rex theater when an audience member suddenly screamed "Allahu Akbar!" in the crowded movie theater. Everyone else in the cinema became frantic, with some audience members heading for the exits. Some claimed in error that the man had a gun with him.

The man had been already rather noisy before screaming "Allahu Akbar." Audience members had tried to hush the man several times during the film because he was constantly ranting that "it's political" while the film was screening. Halfway through the movie, the man began shouting in Arabic. Though he tried to escape security, the man was later found and then taken to the authorities. The rabble-rouser was identified as a 34-year-old resident of Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb in Paris.

Speaking in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Grand Rex theater director reveals that the man had staged the incident to distract the audience while his accomplice robbed everyone else.

"They were two thieves looking for a way to take people's phones and bags. They had already used the same tactic once on a train," the director says.

Only 25 of the 200 audience members in the theater left during the incident though everyone was forced to evacuate so Grand Rex personal could search the theater for weapons and explosives. None were found. Now, the theater is pressing charges against the suspect.

It's wild how some criminals could use ploys like this to take advantage of others. Despite its critical acclaim, Joker has been accompanied by a lot of concern that the movie would inspire violence among its audience members. None of these have materialized, though this report shows how some would use the controversy to take advantage of audience members.

Joker is currently screening in cinemas.

Read: Joaquin Phoenix Plays Poker Together With Five Different Jokers In Epic Fanart