Parents were upset when a Northern California drive-in theater screened the erotic "Fifty Shades of Grey" and "The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" films simultaneously this weekend.
The Sam Taylor-Johnson directed film, based on E.L. James' popular novel, follows the taboo love between Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and self-made billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).
"At the time, there was a woman being slapped, naked, bound up," explained Deborah Powell, who attended the "Spongebob" movie with at least a dozen children. "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."
The films were shown in the Bay Area at Concord's West Wind Solano Drive-In. The theater has two screens, one pointing north, the other west. Both are still visible from different viewing points, KTVU reported.
Powell expressed her concern to a theater employee about playing the R-rated film alongside a family-friendly movie.
"He was apologetic. He agreed that it wasn't appropriate, and that there had been other complaints," said Powell.
