Chinese police get top credit for Avengers: Endgame cinema stake-out
- Officers applauded for patient pursuit of duplicitous Romeo watching blockbuster action movie
Police in eastern China waited until a Marvel fan finished watching the three-hour Avengers: Endgame movie last week before detaining him as a suspect in a romance scam.
The man, only identified by his surname Liu, was watching the blockbuster with a female companion in a theatre in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday night when police arrived after being tipped off about his whereabouts, Zhejiang Television’s Channel 6 reported on Monday.
To minimise disruption for other moviegoers, police stood outside the cinema where Liu was watching the superhero epic and nabbed him as he left, the report said.
China was the first country to screen the Marvel Studios film starring Robert Downey Jnr, Chris Hemsworth and Brie Larson, among others.
The movie has smashed box office records, pulling in more than US$1.2 billion globally so far. In China, it has earned over 104 million yuan (about US$15 million).
There were nearly 100 moviegoers in the cinema house in Hangzhou and officers did not want to ruin their experience, the report said.