Cinema giant Vue has refused to disclose details of 24 “significant incidents” that sparked its controversial decision to pull the film Blue Story from screens earlier this week.

A spokesperson told HuffPost UK a “significant incident” could apply to any incident that required security to intervene.

It could also refer to any police or medical incident, illegal activity, threats, harassment or violence towards staff, or public disorder so bad it made the cinema unsafe. He would not say which category any of the cases fell into, or whether any had involved police.

Vue’s move followed a brawl at Star City in Birmingham on Saturday, which left seven police officers injured.

It is reported to have started in the queue for Frozen 2 – but Vue’s response was to cancel all future screenings of Blue Story, sparking allegations that racism was behind the decision. The film, written and directed by Andrew Onwubolu, focuses on two friends who become rivals in a street war in south London.

Vue has strongly denied these claims. But it has since been unable to provide details of any of the other “significant incidents” that it cited hours later in its own defence.

The chain told PA Media on Monday: “The decision to withdraw Blue Story was not one taken lightly or without careful consideration of our experience across the country.

“The film opened in 60 of our sites across the UK and Ireland on November 22, but during the first 24 hours of the film over 25 significant incidents were reported and escalated to senior management in 16 separate cinemas.

“This is the biggest number we have ever seen for any film in such a short time frame.”

West Midlands Police were called to Star City cinema in Birmingham on Saturday evening after reports of youths with machetes.

Six teenagers, including four 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old girl, were arrested in connection with the disorder, which involved around 100 people. They have been bailed by police.

Rival cinema firm Showcase reinstated screenings of the film on Monday night after “careful consideration and discussions with the distributor”.

“We have come up with a plan to re-instate screenings of the film supported with increased security protocols and will be doing so from this evening,” it said.

Blue Story is rated 15 for very strong language, strong violence, threat, sex and drug misuse.