Cinemas Are Banning Groups in Formal Outfits from ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ After Viral Tik Tok Trend
Minions: The Rise of Gru is a movie meant for families and children. However, this past weekend saw a high number of videos featuring groups of teenagers going to the latest Illumination film while wearing formal business attire. While Universal is certainly loving what this is doing for the box office, theater chains aren’t fans of this Minions Tik Tok trend after it has caused several disturbances.
‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ is the latest movie in the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise
Minions: The Rise of Gru is both a prequel to the first Despicable Me and a sequel to the 2015 Minions movie. The movie sees the return of Steve Carell as a 12-year-old Gru and tells the story of his first adventure with the minions. Gru wants to be known as a great villain but is not taken seriously since he is still a kid.
While the Minions are often a hit or miss for many, this latest entry in the franchise received much better reviews than the first entry. These movies are meant for kids and they really have a blast watching the minions explode and yell their random gibberish.
Viral ‘Minions’ Tik Tok trend gets banned from cinemas
The internet began a viral Tik Tok trend that surrounds Minions: The Rise of Gru. The trend saw large groups of teenagers, mostly boys, descending on movie theaters while wearing suits and ties, which some are calling the Gentleminions movement. While most of these videos seem harmless, some have shown the kids applauding at various moments or even having full minions mosh pits. One group even snuck in trash cans filled with bananas and some celebrities like Mr. Beast have gotten in on the trend.
Since some of these have been disruptive, UK cinemas have taken action against groups showing up for Minions in formal attire. According to Rolling Stone, these chains include Odeon Cinemas and Vue Cinemas. The manager of Vue Cinemas in Worcester told Worcester news that these incidents have cost him over £1,000.
“The trend cost me £1,300 yesterday,” they said. “I had to refund all of the tickets in that theatre because of kids shouting and mimicking the Minions while the film was playing. It was a group of about eight kids. Now, when we see any kids coming in to see the film dressed up we give them a warning. We tell them that if there is one complaint, whatever that may be, they will be kicked out of the cinema.”
While the trend itself is rather funny, being disruptive in a movie theater is never ok. It may not be the most sophisticated movie, but there are many families who spent their money to go see Minions: The Rise of Gru, and their time and money need to be respected.
Did the Tik Tok trend help at the box office?
Universal didn’t care about these disruptions as they took to Twitter and said “to everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you.” Universal’s positive attitude makes sense because the movie broke a box office record for the July 4th weekend, grossing over $125 million, according to Deadline.
The question is whether this Tik Tok trend helped the box office for Minions: The Rise of Gru and the answer is maybe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 34 percent of the audience was between the age ranges of 13 to 17, an unusually high number for an animated kids movie. It may not have been the main factor for the movie’s box office success, but it definitely helped.
Minions: The Rise of Gru is now in theaters.
