Peppa Pig: Festival of fun: Horror film trailer played before children's movie at cinema
Empire Cinemas are investigating the incident
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An “inappropriate” horror film trailer played at a cinema before a showing of Peppa Pig: Festival of Fun – reportedly leaving children “in tears”.
A trailer for Ma, a psychological thriller starring Octavia Spencer, aired at the Empire Cinema in Ipswich, Suffolk, according to the BBC.
The main trailer for Ma, available on YouTube, includes depictions of drinking, sexual content, and violence. Two Ma trailers have been rated as suitable only for people aged 15 and older by the British Board of Film Classification.
According to the BBC, a trailer for Brightburn, a superhero horror film starring Elizabeth Banks, also played before Peppa Pig. Two Brightburn trailers were also deemed suitable only for ages 15 and up by the BBFC.
Empire Cinema told The Independent in a statement that “an inappropriate trailer” played before a screening of Peppa Pig. A spokesperson for the company declined to offer clarification on the number of trailers that aired – one or two.
Parents reportedly took their children out of the cinema until the footage finished airing
BBC journalist Charlie Jones, who had taken her two-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son to the showing, told the network hat her daughter was left “really subdued” after the clips played.
A spokesperson for Empire Cinemas told The Independent in a statement: “We are investigating how an inappropriate trailer was played before a screening of Peppa Pig at our Ipswich Cinema for which we apologise.
“As soon as the staff on site were made aware of the situation, the programme was stopped and trailers were taken off-screen immediately.”
Empire Cinemas “sincerely apologise” for the incident and for “any distress caused”, the spokesperson added.
The company is reviewing internal procedures in light of the incident.