The new Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy is out this week. It goes without saying that it is not Rise of the Guardians, a completely separate 2012 animated film.

Nonetheless, there have been various reports that cinema-goers in the States have actually been shown the wrong film altogether, with several theatres accidentally screening Rise... instead of the latest superhero extravaganza.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, it seems as if one particular audience in Virginia ended up seeing the start of Rise of the Guardians not once, not twice, but three times in a row. They even had to sit through the trailers each time technicians attempted to start up the right film:

So. Third time through the previews And it's rise of the guardians AGAIN.

— Ben (@Peaugh) August 1, 2014

It appears this is a consequence of the transition to digital projection, with the file names likely to have gotten mixed up.

After the third failure, the audience were eventually refunded their money and given tickets to a screening the following evening, as well as a free poster.

It's not quite as amusing as a previous example of the wrong film being shown, however. Back in 2012 it was reported that one audience in England settling in to Madagascar 3 were accidentally shown the opening scene of a Paranormal Activity film instead. Given that audience was largely made up of children, you can probably guess how that went down.