A fun night at the movies can mean many different things: For some, going to the drive-in with the kids to check out SpongeBob SquarePants is ideal, while for others, the kinky kick of Fifty Shades of Grey is the perfect night out. But never the twain should meet, say parents at a California drive-in who complained that the R-rated sex romp was visible from the cartoon movie’s viewing area.

A California drive-in in the Bay Area had both movies on its marquee over the weekend, but that didn’t prepare some visitors for the fact that the screens for each were visible from most vantage points, some visitors told KTVU-TV. And in a news report from CBS San Francisco, video shows how close the two screens are to each other.

A group of parents with two carloads of kids got all set up for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water on Sunday night, only to find that Fifty Shades of Grey was visible the whole time.

“At the time, there was a woman being slapped, naked, bound up,” one mom said. “So we had to have our children close their eyes. I could see another car behind us that had children in there with their eyes closed.”

She complained to a theater worker, who was apologetic and agreed that it wasn’t appropriate. He told the guests that other visitors had had complaints as well.

The movies overlap for several hours, so the grown-ups decided to pull the plug on the excursion.

“There is no way to avoid looking at that screen. It’s too tempting. So, we couldn’t stay. We had to turn around. My children were devastated,” she said.

Both KTVU-TV and CBS San Francisco contacted the theater’s owners, but thus far haven’t gotten a response about the unfortunate double feature.

Concord drive-in screens ‘Spongebob’ and ’50 Shades’ together [KTVU-TV]
‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Film Visible From Viewing Area For ‘SpongeBob 2′ At Concord Drive-In [CBS San Francisco]

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