Food taken into Pukekohe movie theatre: Mums say they didn’t see signs banning BYO snacks

Two women who were trespassed from a Pukekohe cinema for bringing in their own food have spoken out about the incident, saying they weren’t aware of the BYO food ban and felt calling police on them was heavy handed.

Cinema 3 in Pukekohe trespassed the women on Wednesday and police were called after a heated exchange with staff.

The sisters had taken their children, both 5, to see Despicable Me 4. They were in a rush to get the tickets, they told the Herald, and were five minutes late to the movie. It was the first time they’d been to Cinema 3 in Pukekohe.

Entering the cinema with blankets and bags containing the snacks – popcorn, chips and lollies – they claimed they “didn’t see any signs” and that no one mentioned outside snacks were prohibited.

“She didn’t even tell us, ‘Hey, look, we don’t allow food in here’.”

Five minutes into the movie, an employee told them to put their snacks away.

“We completely agreed, and she says she doesn’t trust us to do that and she’s going to sit right next to us, and we’re like, ‘Look, if that’s what you want to do, that’s completely fine’,” one of the women told the Herald.

A few minutes later, one of the children, who still had a Skittle in their hand, put it in their mouth.

“That’s when [the employee] started yelling,” the women claimed.

They said they agreed to put the snacks away, and the employee then said that if they didn’t leave the cinema staff would call the police.

The children began to cry, which can be heard in the footage posted in a viral TikTok on Tuesday.

“My niece asked nicely, ‘If you’re calling the police, are they going to kill my mum?’” one of the women told the Herald.

“And he laughed at that stage. He looks directly in her face and he said ‘Yeah, maybe we’ll find out’. That’s when the camera came out and then he started laughing, doing the peace sign waving at the kids. And as you can hear in the video, I’m like, ‘Don’t do that’.

“So after that whole incident of my niece now crying, he’s still yelling at us.”

Cinema 3 operations manager Robert Greig arrived shortly after the exchange.

“He entered and then we listened to him because he was really kind,” the women said.

“He said that the police were not gonna come in.”

They left the theatre to discuss the issue in the cinema foyer.

Yesterday, Greig told the Herald the group complied with his request to leave the theatre and resolve the incident in the lobby.

The women said he may have not known cinema employees had already called the police.

“So when we were having a conversation with Rob in the lobby, four policemen showed up.

“I thought it was a bit dramatic that we had four police,” said one woman. “It’s unnecessary, it’s intimidating. We’ve got children with us.”

They said the situation had escalated.

“All I wanted was a refund so we could take the kids to another movie or something,” one mum said.

They suggested there could have been clearer communication when they walked in.

“You possibly have snacks in your bag. We don’t allow that.”

About 75% of Herald readers polled this week said they either had brought outside food into the movies in the past, or hadn’t but felt it was fine if people did. About 25% of readers responded, “No, I would never”.

The BYO food incident has been debated on the Franklin Grapevine community Facebook page.

The TikTok video was viewed 125,000 times within 24 hours.

“I didn’t make the post to be malicious. I didn’t expect a lot of people to view it.”

The women said a comment on the race of the employee, which can be heard in the video, was made after a verbal exchange that made them decide to record the incident.

When asked on Wednesday about the alleged exchange, Greig declined to comment.

“I can’t speak to exactly what was said between the members of the public and my staff because I wasn’t there,” he said. “What I can tell you is members of my staff were made to feel unsafe.”

However, the women told the Herald they weren’t aggressive.

“I did mention to the police and Rob multiple times that he [the employee] said we were going to be ‘un-alived’ in front of the kids,” one of the women said.

“We didn’t say that we weren’t going to leave. All I wanted was a refund.”

Police said staff attended and verbally trespassed the pair, who left without further incident.

The women said they’ve been trespassed from the premises for two years.

Cinema 3 considered the issue resolved.

“We won’t be pursuing this any further,” Greig said. “We’re not trying to drag this issue out more than it needs to be.”