No, Dozens of People Did Not Die While Making Cats

In the time since screenings of Tom Hooper’s Cats have begun, the internet has been a go-to source for hilarious reactions to the adaptation of the iconic musical, though not all users have the same sense of humor, with some believing a viral tweet claiming that dozens of people died over the course of production on the film. As pointed out by Snopes, it appears that Twitter user Charlotte Clymer was the first to make a joke about the deaths, sharing a picture of the credits and noting that it was a list of names of crew members who had died. In the time since their tweet, it has gained thousands of likes, while other Twitter users repeated the joke, spreading the misinformation even further.

While some Twitter users would see the above post and immediately know it was a joke, other users shared the post and claimed that, with the film having reportedly been in production for decades, various people involved with the film over that course of time would have passed away. The names are actually those of the digital artists who brought the film to life.

Despite these viral tweets merely being jokes, Cats will likely be one of the more memorable films of the year, though not for its quality. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently sits at 18% positive reviews from critics while 56% of audiences on the site have given it a positive rating. With a reported production budget of more than $200 million, the film opened in fourth place at the domestic box office, taking in only $6.6 million.

When the trailer for the film first debuted, audiences were shocked by the appearance of the characters, as the film attempted to recreate the tone of the original play by delivering cat/human hybrids, though the use of CGI to accomplish this task resulted in an unexpectedly bizarre experience. Director Hooper then claimed he would be updating the effects ahead of the film’s release, yet, when the film did land in theaters, some audiences noticed that some visual effects shots appeared incomplete, with theaters then being alerted that a new copy of the film would be sent to them with updated effects, an unprecedented move for any movie.

Cats is in theaters now.

What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below!