10 Times People Died While Watching Movies

Movies are made to entertain us: they exist to make us laugh, cry, cheer, boo, and get into arguments with random strangers online. As harmless pieces of entertainment, there really are no downsides to having a long Netflix binge, or heading to the cinema to catch the latest blockbuster, indie gem, or horror sensation.

Well... most of the time. On very unfortunate occasions, cases crop-up of people actually dying while watching a movie, whether it's the viewing experience itself - or the victim's personal health - that leads to their untimely death. The pure randomness of this scenario makes for some truly crazy stories, and despite being rare, it has happened a lot more times than you might have realised.

Like the very best movies, life can be unpredictable, and little did these people know that the films they were watching - from Beauty And The Beast, to Harry Potter, to Avengers: Infinity War - would be their last. So the next time you get mad at someone loudly rustling sweet packets, just remember that things could be a lot, lot worse.

James Cameron's 3D epic earned a ton of praise for its beautiful visuals and groundbreaking special effects, creating a vibrant, immersive experience that thrilled audiences to the tune of over $2.5 billion globally. Unfortunately for one Taiwanese patron, those thrills proved a bit too much.

In January 2010, it was reported that a man - who had a history of high blood pressure - fell ill while watching the movie, dying of a stroke soon after. Bizarrely, doctors claimed that over-excitement triggered his symptoms, with the rush of watching Avatar leading to his illness and subsequent death.

Whether this paints Avatar in a good light or a bad light is up for debate - the fact that it has the ability to cause severe over-excitement proves that it's a powerful cinematic experience, at least - but the negativity of this story hardly damaged the film's unmatched box-office numbers.