Have You Ever Left The Theater?
Sometimes you walk into a theater expecting Oscar gold—and walk out wondering if you can get a refund on your time. From awkward plots to unwatchable chaos, these are the 14 movies that had audiences bolting for the exits. Be honest—would you have stayed till the credits?
The Exorcist (1973)
Does anyone ever forget the first time they watched The Exorcist? I remember being completely engaged, unable to turn away—and yet soaked in a cold sweat. However, if you had the opportunity to see the horror film when it first came out in 1973, your viewing experience may have been even more terrifying.
Sunset Boulevard, Getty Images
The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist was unlike anything anyone had seen on the big screen. Audiences were so horrified they ran out of the theater. But that wasn't all. People were screaming, fainting, and even experiencing panic attacks. Some even ended up in the hospital because they were so distressed.
Warner Bros., The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
The religious and satanic themes in The Exorcist must have really hit a nerve with viewers. This, paired with a phenomenal soundtrack and grotesque special effects, made for one of the scariest films ever made.
Deadpool (2016)
Though Deadpool is a Marvel superhero movie, it is not made for kids. Even Ryan Reynolds made it clear to parents that this film was intended for mature audiences.
Deadpool (2016)
Deadpool (aka Wade Wilson) has never been one to keep things clean—or quiet. But that didn’t stop unsuspecting parents from bringing the kids along, expecting a cheerful superhero romp. Instead, they got a masterclass in bad language, blood, and broken fourth walls—and probably a few awkward car rides home.
Swiss Army Man (2016)
2016's Swiss Army Man really attracted audiences at the Sundance Film Festival. Everyone wanted to see a fun surrealist comedy starring none other than the Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe. There was such high demand for seating that some people had to be turned away.
Swiss Army Man (2016)
However, once Swiss Army Man began playing, audiences quickly realized that this movie was not what they had signed up for. Radcliffe plays a dead man with chronic flatulence, who becomes a companion for a man who finds himself stranded on an island.
The wild premise turned a lot of people off and they began abandoning the screening.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
1971's A Clockwork Orange is a praised Stanley Kubrick classic. But though cinephiles might be head over heels for it, the average viewer was likely deeply disturbed by what they saw.
Warner Bros., A Clockwork Orange (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The film follows a man name Alexander DeLarge, who is one of the most chilling sociopaths imaginable. He actually enjoys hurting people and forcing himself on women. The difficult subject matter caused audiences to check out. What's more?
Theaters eventually stopped screening the film because it sparked a series of awful crimes in England.
Warner Bros., A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
By now, everyone knows better than to expect sunshine and rainbows from a Quentin Tarantino flick. The man practically has a trademark on stylish brutality—and Reservoir Dogs delivers in spades. Between the razor-sharp dialogue and that one infamously gruesome scene, audiences quickly learned that “disturbing” is just another Tarantino genre.
Miramax, Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
When Reservoir Dogs screened during the Sitges Film Festival, five people stood up and left during the torture scene. Even the famous horror director Wes Craven walked out.
Miramax, Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Raw (2016)
2016's Raw is not for the faint of heart. Directed by Julia Ducournau, the film's main characters goes to a veterinarian school and faces a chilling hazing ritual. Though she's a vegetarian, she's made to consume raw meat for the very first time. But it gets worse.
Raw (2016)
Raw is an incredibly visceral film—affecting and hard to watch—and it really gets under your skin (no pun intended). The body horror takes an even darker turn when the main character develops a desire to consume human flesh.
The House That Jack Built (2018)
Director Lars Von Trier has a reputation for making films that are quite challenging to take in. The horror film he made in 2018, The House That Jack Built, truly disturbed audiences at the Cannes Film Festival.
Zentropa, The House That Jack Built (2018)
The House That Jack Built (2018)
During the Cannes Film Festival, over 100 people walked out of the theater showing The House That Jack Built—and for good reason. The plot focuses on a twisted serial killer who goes after women. The content was so gratuitous that people couldn't stomach it.
Zentropa, The House That Jack Built (2018)
Alien (1979)
Let’s hope no parents mistook Alien for another wholesome space romp like Star Wars. Instead of lightsabers and droids, Ridley Scott delivered chest-bursting horror and claustrophobic terror that left even hardened sci-fi fans squirming. One thing’s for sure—after Alien, “in space no one can hear you scream” wasn’t just a tagline.
Twentieth Century, Alien (1979)
Alien (1979)
One of the most defining moments from Alien occurs when an alien bursts out of the actor John Hurt's chest. For some viewers, it was too much to handle, so they opted to dip out of the screening.
Twentieth Century, Alien (1979)
Cats (2019)
When I heard that there was going to be a movie adaptation of the Broadway show Cats, I was excited, even hopeful. But like many other viewers, my expectations were almost immediately dashed.
Cats (2019)
While the musical definitely works on stage, in the film, the anthropomorphism of the cats was deeply unsettling. Something about the animation just didn't sit right. It was enough for many people to end their viewing experiencing early, including myself.
Cloverfield (2008)
2008's Cloverfield turned off audiences, not because of its content, but because of the style of filming. The "found footage" visuals were very shaky and nausea-inducing.
Cloverfield (2008)
Plenty of people were glued to their seats during Cloverfield—right up until the camera started shaking like it was filmed inside a blender. The chaotic, found-footage climax was so dizzying that even committed fans couldn’t make it to the end without feeling queasy. For some, the monster wasn’t the scariest part—the motion sickness was.
"mother!" (2017)
Darren Aronofsky is known for making films with surreal and disturbing elements, but his 2017 film mother! drew some harsh criticism.
"mother!" (2017)
During some of the screenings of mother!, audience members not only walked out of the theater, but they also complained and asked for refunds. It was the violence that caused the most controversy.
"mother!" (2017)
On the Rotten Tomatoes website, the critics consensus reads, "There's no denying that mother! is the thought-provoking product of a singularly ambitious artistic vision, though it may be too unwieldy for mainstream tastes."
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project was destined to make an impression. It's a horror film shot in a "found footage" style, following the experiences of three students who disappear in a forest while filming a documentary.
Summit, The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The movie’s marketing was so good that audiences were practically sprinting to theaters—and then sprinting right back out. What they got wasn’t just terrifying; it was unsettling in every possible way. The raw, shaky “found footage” style was groundbreaking at the time, but for many viewers, it felt less like watching a film and more like surviving one—complete with dizziness, nausea, and second thoughts about their ticket purchase.
Summit, The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction is considered one of Quentin Tarantino's best films, but when it first hit screens, not everyone agreed. By this time, the director was undoubtedly used to people walking out on his films.
In 2017, he spoke to The Guardian, sharing that when Reservoir Dogs came out, he "counted the walkouts."
Pulp Fiction (1994)
At the Cannes Film Festival, audiences made their dissatisfaction with Pulp Fiction known by booing it. The film won the festival's highest prize—the Palme d'or—and people were not pleased with this decision.
127 Hours (2010)
127 Hours was never going to be an easy watch. It's a grueling biopic following Aron Ralston, a canyoneer who became big news for a tragic reason. While canyoneering on his own, Ralston gets trapped when a boulder pins his right wrist.
127 Hours (2010)
Spoiler alert! The scene that caused audience members to lose their minds was when the main character has to amputate his own arm. Not fun. People were fainting. People were vomiting. For those unfamiliar with this real-life story, they were not prepared.
