A fire at a crowded Upper East Side movie theater last night forced theater-goers to run towards the exits.
The chaotic scene began shortly after 10 p.m. when thick clouds of smoke seeped into the three screenings at the theater on Third Avenue and 59th Street.
“The staff ran in to tell everyone, ‘Emergency,’ so we ran like crazy,” said Andrew Bata, 59, who had only seen 10 minutes of “Anna Karenina.”
“No one knew what was going on. The smoke was very thick and you could not see or . . . breathe.
“As we were running out, we saw something at the vending area that was spewing out black smoke,” he said.
The fire was quickly brought under control and there were no injuries, the FDNY said.