Theater Ceiling Falls on Couple

A couple had the theater to themselves Tuesday night for a screening of Captain America: Brave New World, which turned out to be for the best. Partway through the Marvel film, the ceiling of the Liberty Cinema in downtown Wenatchee, Washington, collapsed, NBC News reports. Neither customer was injured. "They heard some pops and cracking and the gentleman stood up and took a peek," said Cam Phillips, Wenatchee Valley Fire Department battalion chief. "[He] walked up toward the screen and as he looked up, he said, 'Run!'"

His girlfriend didn't have time to react before the ceiling fell around her, dumping debris on her, Phillips said. She was sitting one row behind the pile of wood and insulation, per King5.
"Talk about an interactive movie experience," the fire department said in a statement. The theater was built in 1919 and last remodeled in the 1970s, he said, adding that the drop ceiling evidently failed catastrophically at once. The Liberty's owner, Sun Basin Theatres, said it's working with officials to figure out the cause of the collapse. "We are really fortunate that this didn't happen on a Friday night or a Saturday night when the theater was full," Phillips said. (More Washington state stories.)