In a surprising turn of events, several movie theaters have come under fire for inserting an unauthorized intermission in Martin Scorsese's highly-anticipated film, "Killers of the Flower Moon." Apple, the film's producer, and Paramount, its distributor, have cracked down on these theaters, demanding that the film be shown as intended without any breaks.

According to Variety, a handful of theaters around the world, including two European cinema chains and an independent theater in Amsterdam, had been selling tickets to screenings of "Killers of the Flower Moon" with a built-in intermission. Intervals varied between six minutes and 15 minutes, disrupting the immersive experience intended by Scorsese.

UCI Cinemas, a prominent exhibition chain with nearly 80 theaters in Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil, confirmed that all their venues, except for Imax screens in Porta di Roma, Orio, and Campi Bisenzio, had included a six-minute interval towards the middle of the film. The Vue, a well-known theater chain based in the U.K., and The Movies Haarlemmerdijk in Amsterdam were also offering showings with a break.

In the domestic market, The Lyric, a theater in Fort Collins, Colo., initially screened the historical drama with an intermission, but discontinued the practice after facing backlash from Paramount and Apple Original Films. The companies have started contacting theaters that violated their contract by splitting up the film and instructed them to showcase "Killers of the Flower Moon" as originally intended, according to a source familiar with the matter.

While only a small number of theaters out of the approximately 10,000 globally screening the film inserted an intermission, their actions did not go unnoticed. Thelma Schoonmaker, the editor of the film and a long-time collaborator with Scorsese, expressed her disapproval of this unauthorized addition, stating, "I understand that somebody's running it with an intermission which is not right. That's a violation so I have to find out about it."

Although Scorsese himself has not directly addressed the intermission controversy, he defended the film's lengthy runtime in an interview with the Hindustan Times, highlighting that people can watch something for even longer periods on television.

Industry analysts seem divided on the issue. Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice Pro, acknowledges Scorsese's intentions but suggests that meeting audience demand could justify offering a limited intermission option. "If Scorsese didn't intend for there to be an intermission, I think that should be at least the primary way people can see it," says Robbins. "But if it means a difference in helping someone make the decision to go and buy a ticket, rather than not go see the movie, then maybe there's an economical and practical argument for at least a limited option."

Representatives from Apple and Paramount declined to comment on the matter.

As of now, theaters exhibiting "Killers of the Flower Moon" are urged to adhere to the original vision of the film, providing an uninterrupted cinematic experience. With Scorsese's epic garnering significant attention, audiences worldwide eagerly await its release, with or without an intermission.