Drunk Florida man goes searching for his missing vape during a screening of ‘The Odyssey’, and ends up causing $2000 in damages

A Florida man was arrested after causing a disturbance inside a movie theater while searching for his missing vape, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.

Nickolas Vanderplate, 21, ran into a crowded auditorium at Regal Royal Palm Beach, which was showing Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey at the time, deputies said. He allegedly then damaged an emergency exit door before fleeing the building.

According to the Daily Mail, the incident took place on Wednesday, July 22. Vanderplate, who is from Loxahatchee, was later taken into custody and charged with criminal mischief causing more than $1,000 in property damage.

Disturbance began near the theater’s bar area

The disturbance started near the cinema’s bar, where staff told investigators that Vanderplate appeared to be heavily intoxicated and struggled to remain standing, according to a CBS 12 report. Staff said he leaned on another customer for support and knocked over that customer’s drink.

Theater managers approached Vanderplate to offer assistance, staff accounts cited by CBS 12 say. At that point, Vanderplate allegedly bolted across the lobby, slipped, and crashed into a wall before running into auditorium two.

Once inside the auditorium, Vanderplate allegedly ran in front of the screen and began screaming as he searched for his vape, staff told investigators. Vanderplate then ran out of the auditorium and collided with a locked emergency exit at full speed, deputies said. The impact tore the door from its hinges and separated it from the frame. Theater management estimated that replacing the door would cost approximately $2,000.

After damaging the door, Vanderplate fled the cinema. He attempted to climb a tree before scaling a nearby chain-link fence, the sheriff’s office said. He then climbed onto the roof of a neighboring building in what deputies described as an apparent attempt to hide.

Deputies located Vanderplate on the rooftop, and cinema employees identified him as the person responsible for the disturbance. Vanderplate was taken to Palms West Hospital for medical clearance due to his level of intoxication and the falls he sustained during the incident, deputies said. He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail after being discharged from the hospital.

The Odyssey, which opened in theaters on July 17, is Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic. The film earned $264.1 million worldwide during its opening weekend, according to reported box office figures.

It earned $124.5 million in the US and Canada alone, which reports described as Nolan’s strongest domestic opening since The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. It is Nolan’s first film since his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, and the director has said an earlier movie made this project possible.

The $250 million production stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, and Charlize Theron. Zendaya has spoken about an intense on-set filming experience during production in Iceland.