Kong: Skull Island is premiering around the world this week, and it appears poised to be number one at the box office this weekend. That’s an explosive debut—and one premiere took that literally.
There were a number of worldwide premieres for the movie, which has among its ensemble of stars Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, and John C. Reilly.
In Vietnam, the premiere included dancers with batons set on fire, pyrotechnics, and a 16-foot replica of King Kong. After the dancers left the stage, as you can see in this video, the host came out and said, “You know what? I was standing there and I was actually scared myself,” just as Kong’s arm started to burn.
As you would expect, there was a little fleeing as the giant gorilla burned in its entirety.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, we have a statement from a Vietnamese representative for Warner Bros., which says, “There was a small fire at an outdoor atrium at CGV Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City during a Kong: Skull Island opening event. We are very grateful that no one was hurt.”
And while I am no expert on fire sizes, I do question the characterization of the fire that engulfed 16-foot gorilla as “small.” Just a tad.
Oh well, some premieres go off without a hitch. Some include a gorilla blazing merrily in the background after large groups of people run away from it.