Local mother reports ‘terrified’ and ‘questioning’ offspring after projectionist error leads to horror sequel being screened instead of Pixar animation

Two tentpole titles playing during the same week. Two movies that begin with the letters “insid”. One slightly distracted projectionist. Such is the setup for a drama that unfolded in Ohio last weekend, resulting in an auditorium full of weeping children.

The mix-up, in which preschoolers were treated to the opening reel of horror sequel Insidious 3 rather than anticipated Disney-Pixar film Inside Out, was followed by an apology by the duty manager and upgraded tickets for all.

“I got our money back,” wrote Jazmyn Moore on the local newspaper’s Facebook page, “but the damage is already done. [M]y children are terrified and keep asking questions.”

Pixar's Inside Out scores record $91.1m behind Jurassic World's $102m in US Read more

Moore reported that her party witnessed images of children being tied up and murdered, before she and other adults removed their charges from the cinema.

Insidious 3 was released in the US on 5 June, with Inside Out following a fortnight later. The family film has taken more than double the domestic gross of the horror, securing the biggest-ever opening for an original concept movie.