The in-theater premiere of Martin Scorsese's highly-anticipated Netflix film The Irishman hit a snag during the screening.

Friday morning's 11.15am showing at New York's Landmark 57 Theater was cancelled with an announcement in the auditorium that part of the film 'was missing'.

The opening day showing was sold out and the audience was given passes to return the following week.

It appears to have been an issue with the digital projection system that was still not resolved by the theater's second showing, sending that sold out crowd home as well.

Friday morning's 11.15am showing of Martin Scorsese's The Irishman at New York's Landmark 57 Theater was cancelled due to technical difficulties

An announcement was made to a sold out show that part of the film was 'missing'

According to ShowBiz411, one theater-goer said:“After making reservations a month ahead of time to get good seats in the Fancy Landmark theater.

'[I] got there on time seeing an 11 15 am show yesterday. Theatre was packed all set to see it. When a usherette or whatever came down to make an announcement that they will not be able to show it because part of it was missing.'

As expected, havoc ensued and according to ShowBiz411, people were screaming and upset that they had traveled from New Jersey to see the film while other people threatened to call Scorsese himself.

On Twitter, one user wrote: 'Did anyone mention that the Landmark Theatre skunked it's movie goers on Friday's opening of The Irishman. They cancelled the shows due to technical difficulties. Now that's news. Not covered!'

This comes as theater-chain owners are already angry that the gangster film will have a limited big screen run before it goes to Netflix.

Netflix, which produced the $159-million film, had been trying to hammer out a deal with major chains over the conditions of a release.

According to the terms of the negotiation, The Irishman, which opened on Friday, will run for 26 days before it's made available to the streaming service's 158 million subscribers, reported The New York Times.

It appears to have been an issue with the digital projection system at Landmark 57 Theater that was still not resolved by the second showing Friday

Martin Scorsese's, The Irishman, opened in theaters in New York and Los Angeles Friday. Pictured: Al Pacino, center left, and Robert De Niro, center right, in a scene from The Irishman

The Irishman will open on eight screens in New York and Los Angeles before expanding to smaller chain and independent movie houses across the country.

Typically, major chains ask that films run for 72 days, or three months, on the big screen before they're made available on streaming platforms, reported The Times.

However, two chains, AMC and Cineplex, said they were willing to lower the number of days to 60 - but Netflix said it wouldn't allow more than 45.

'It's a disgrace,' John Fithian, the president of the National Association of Theater Owners, told The Times.

'It's a very big disappointment that Netflix and the leading theater owners couldn't figure out a way to put a significant movie from Martin Scorsese on a lot of screens.

'This is a major director, a cinephile, who has made all kinds of important movies for our industry. And The Irishman is going to play on one-tenth of the screens it should have played on, had Netflix been willing to come to an understanding with our members.'

The Irishman is Scorsese's 25th directed film and has an all-star cast including Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.

The movie tells the story of Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a mob hit man whom, as an old man, reflects on the role he played in the disappearance of union labor leader James Hoffa (Pacino) and his connections to the Bufalino crime family.

The film is based on the 2004 novel I Heard You Paint Houses, for which the author, former prosecutor Charles Brandt, interviewed the real-life Sheeran.

Sheeran alleged that he murdered Hoffa by shooting him in the back of the head twice in a house in Detroit.

However, investigators and historians who've studied the case for years say Sheeran's claims are untrue because Hoffa's blood was not found in the house that he allegedly was killed in.



