Parents stormed out of a cinema with their children after a violent movie trailer was shown on screen as they waited to watch the Disney film, Brave.
As blood-spattered scenes from controversial Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained appeared on the big screen, the mums and dads headed for the exits in disgust.
The 11am Saturday showing at the Birmingham cinema was packed as many families had taken advantage of the theatre's 'Little Giants Cinema Club' special offer of 50p entry.
Children as young as three years old watched open-mouthed as lead characters Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio blasted cowboys with shotguns and rifles. This was then followed by trailers for Die Hard 5 and Iron Man 3 – which also feature scenes of violence.
Angry mum Melissa Coombs, 33, from Codsall, West Midlands, attended the screening with husband Peter and daughters Daisy, six, and Penny, three.
She said: "The trailers were for Django Unchained, Die Hard 5 and Iron Man so obviously our children looked horrified because they are three and six.
"We had to cover their eyes and ears. The room was full of families and young children because they are doing an offer where it is 50p a ticket.
"The Tarantino trailer was blood and guts and death. My kids looked shocked and horrified.
"As it is such a big screen there was nowhere to hide. A lot of parents took their children out of the room."
Mum-of-two Lisa Whitmore, 36, from Great Barr, Birmingham, said: "It's probably the most violent film on at the cinema now. I don't know how the staff could be so incompetent.
"Showing them stuff like that can scar children for life. It was not appropriate viewing for my two little girls – who are only six and eight. I had to leave the cinema."
A statement from The Giant Screen, based at Birmingham's Millennium Point, blamed the showing on a technical error.
A spokesperson said: "This unfortunately meant that the trailers shown in advance of the film were certified suitable for older audiences aged 12 and 15.
"Following the screening, the visitor services manager met concerned parents in the exit foyer to apologise. Immediate action has been taken to strengthen the procedures in place."