The Force awoke and then went straight back to sleep for Star Wars fans in Perth early this morning.
Managers at the IMAX in the city felt the full force of customers’ complaints after the midnight showing had to be abandoned when the screen froze around an hour into what is one of the most eagerly anticipated film releases in history.
Fans across the world have been counting down the days until the release of JJ Abrams’ sequel, and cinemas were packed for late-night showings.
Inchture man Kevin Anderson was one of those let down by the technical fault.
He said: “Around the one hour mark the sound went funny and then the screen froze.Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (4/5)“After 10 minutes someone came in and told us they were trying to fix it. He came back in 30 minutes later telling us they were giving it one last go. Twenty minutes later match abandoned!”
He added: “They said there was a power outage, but I’m not convinced. I don’t even think there was a projectionist in the cinema. Absolute shambles.”
A spokesman for the cinema said: “The Perth Playhouse suffered an unforeseen serious technical problem. We can clarify today that the source of the issue was a failure of the power source to the IMAX projector.
“Despite emergency efforts from both the in house teams and IMAX remote support, we were unable to restore power and had to take the difficult decision to cancel the screening.”See more Star Wars coverage in Saturday’s CourierHe added: “We understand completely the deep disappoint our customers faced, given the levels of anticipation for this special event, and we are thankful to the audience in attendance for their understanding.
“We will of course ensure all reservations made with credit/debit card are refunded directly back to customers, and guests who paid with cash are encouraged to visit the cinema for a cash refund. By way of an apology, complimentary tickets will be offered to all customers who attended the midnight screening.
“Supporting teams have been working throughout the night and morning to fix the issue, and technical teams have confirmed that as of this morning, the system is in full working order.”
Dear @PerthPlayhouse, I suggest you fix the movie quickly or else you might have a riot on your hands #StarWars #StarWarsTheForceAwakens
— Ian Fraser (@IXL) December 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/KayPartyof5/status/677398807500451840
@PerthPlayhouse @StarWarsUK @STVNews Refund doesn't cut it. No other midnight screening of #StarWars #ForceAwakens (#NotReally) broke 🙁
— Moggity Mog. Y'know. (@Moggy_Mog) December 17, 2015
Projector broke half-way through the midnight screening of The Force Awakens @PerthPlayhouse
Genuinely devastated.— sam (@SMortonTHD) December 17, 2015
Perth Playhouse are deeply sorry for the cancellation of The Force Awakens at IMAX midnight screening. A full statement will follow shortly.
— IMAX Perth Playhouse (@PerthPlayhouse) December 17, 2015
(more soon)