Stephen King reveals the one movie he walked out of – and others reveal their cinema trips from hell

Have you ever seen a movie so bad that it’s caused you to get up and leave? You’re not alone. Stephen King has revealed his own experience of splitting during a trip to the cinema, and it’s caused others on social media to share their own tales of bad moviegoing experiences.

In a reply to novelist Linwood Barclay admitting he walked out on Jurassic World Dominion, Stephen King said, "I have walked out of only one movie as an adult: Transformers. Would like to know what other movies people have walked out on."

Inevitably, people replied in their droves. Journalist Keith Olbermann went old school for his trip down memory lane, saying, "Godfather 3. Night after the premiere in LA. Then walked back in on the hunch it would get worse. And it did."

Others mentioned everything from The Human Centipede 3 (understandable) to Star Wars (less so). Sausage Party, Kill Bill, and Howard the Duck were also victims of an audience getaway for some. Not all walkouts were due to quality, either. Another recalled that their own rush to the exit on Twitter was down to the subject matter.

"March of the Penguins. Soon as the first egg was lost I said 'no f--k this' and left. I also will not watch Old Yeller, and I turned off Marley and Me as soon as the dog had problems with the stairs," they said.

Curiously, one even replied with an adaptation of Stephen King’s work. No, not Shawshank Redemption. It was 2017’s Dark Tower that caused one audience member to get up and leave.

He said, "I'm sorry. I tried. But I love the work too much to accept that as the visual tribute to it. The Dark Tower books are sentimental to me for personal reasons. I need it as written. I'd rather have my movie in my head than the one that was on the screen."

One film that Stephen King did appreciate, however, was The Black Phone. The Ethan Hawke-starring horror (and adaptation of his son Joe Hill’s story) was apparently described as ‘Stand by Me in Hell’ by the author. High praise indeed.

For more on what’s coming to cinemas – whether you stay or not is up to you – then check out our movie release dates guide.