Friday marks the theatrical release of Oppenheimer, one of the most-hyped films to hit the silver screen in years, but cinephiles looking to catch a debut screening of the hotly-anticipated movie near Vaughan on the eve of its release had their show interrupted by a theatre mishap.

This premiere screening of Oppenheimer, held at the massive UFO-shaped Cineplex Cinemas Vaughan, was over two-thirds of the way through its epic three-hour runtime when technical difficulties brought the film to a sudden halt.

Here’s the moment our 70MM IMAX showing of OPPENHEIMER abruptly shut off with 40 min left to go. pic.twitter.com/MjVDKgqWpI

— patrick (@imPatrickT) July 21, 2023

Moviegoers' experience came to an abrupt interruption with just 40 minutes to go in the film, as theatre staff quickly worked through the problem to get the projector back online.

The hiccup seems less of a surprise with the context that Cineplex reportedly flew a projectionist in from Los Angeles to work the 70mm IMAX system for the next two weeks.

it just broke down with 40 min left 😭 they’re working on fixing! https://t.co/cX0KvGzHYS

— Nives Hajdin-Rorabeck (@nivosupremo) July 21, 2023

In the end, the movie was only interrupted for about five minutes, which may have actually worked out to the benefit of moviegoers, who were given free movie passes after the brief technical issue.

this is so fucking funny.

I’m not upset or even disappointed. film got up and running again in 5 minutes and were given free passes after.

these experiences are part of why I love going to the movies. “Remember when we saw X at Y” stories don’t happen on your couch. pic.twitter.com/B8BOpWpx2D

— patrick (@imPatrickT) July 21, 2023

As part of the premiere festivities, attendees were also handed 70mm IMAX filmstrips from the movie, a snippet of cinema memorabilia that could fetch a high price from collectors a few years down the line.

They fixed it! Cinema was saved pic.twitter.com/GwgZZEEUbL

— Nives Hajdin-Rorabeck (@nivosupremo) July 21, 2023

Oppenheimer is playing in theatres all around the Greater Toronto Area, including several IMAX theatres.

However, anyone looking to catch the film in its epic 70mm IMAX format will have to visit Cineplex Cinemas Vaughan or Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga, which appear to be the only locations in the region playing Oppenheimer in this format.

Toronto's main 70mm IMAX theatre, the Cinesphere at Ontario Place, is currently not screening films as it undergoes renovations.

Meanwhile, Oppenheimer releases to the masses today and is already being well-received by audiences, ranked at 93 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.