‘The five year wait is over’
Some cinemas across the UK have started banning teens dressed in suits from attending screenings of the new Minions movie Rise of Gru following a growing viral TikTok trend.
Select chains have reported having to dish out a large amount of refunds after turning groups of suited and booted teenagers away from their screens due to disruptive behaviour.
The trend – which has earned the TikTok hashtag #GentlemanMinions – has been rife on the video-based social media platform since the movie’s release on Friday July 1.
In a nutshell, it shows young adults flocking to cinemas in large groups to see the new instalment of the Despicable Me spin-off series, treating the experience as if it’s a glitzy Hollywood premiere.
It’s so far been enough for some chains to take action at some groups’ disruptive behaviour which has involved cheering loudly and throwing things during the movie. Speaking to the BBC, one staff member of a popular chain explained that they didn’t want the experience to ruin what may have been some children’s first trip to the cinema.
Many videos show fans posing for photographs alongside the film’s poster in cinema lobbies, while others boast the phrase “the five year wait is over” – commenting on the amount of time that has passed since the franchise’s last instalment hit screens.
Why Minions is crushing the box office. pic.twitter.com/IsFSW7Tkrf
— Rob Keyes (@rob_keyes) July 3, 2022
Meanwhile, other videos show fans posing with their hands set in a similar conspiratorial style to Gru, the evil mastermind featured in the movie and the overseer of its hoards of yellow, dungaree-loving Minions.
@hoesreal2 W minions ?? #minions #ad #fyp #suits ♬ el que usa el audios es gay. – Juani.Yelich
One video even appears to show teens booing other customers who attend a screening of Minions: Rise of Gru in regular clothing.
@corey_harwood543 ome of the best experiences ever in a cinema #minions #riseofgru #cinema #experience #fyp ♬ original sound – CoreyH543
Seriously. It’s all gotten a bit much.
@lyndon.c Despicable af ? #fyp #minions #riseofgru #cineplex #gentleman ♬ original sound – billh
Still, the movie’s makers appear to be loving it. With the trend no doubt boosting the film’s already-stellar box office numbers, Universal Pictures has even endorsed the trend via Twitter.
to everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you. 🫶
— Universal Pictures (@UniversalPics) July 1, 2022
According to the BBC, Guernsey’s only cinema was forced to cancel all future screenings of the movie due to badly behaved customers, ultimately ruining the fun for everyone.
Labelling he #GentlemanMinions hoards’ behaviour as “stunningly bad”, Daniel Phillips-Smith, Manager of Guernsey’s Mallard Cinema said: “It’s been absolutely heartbreaking. We’ve had families who won’t even go back into the screen when we’ve tried to sort it out, families leaving before the film has even started, and of course the children have been in tears.”
Other images posted to social media appear to show signs at Odeon cinemas advising customers that guests in “formal attire will be refused entry” to their screens.
Thoroughly entertained by this sign @ODEONCinemas and then saw a bunch of kids in suits refused entry! #gentleminions pic.twitter.com/zo7seJ5COl
— 𝔾𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝔻 (@gillduds) July 3, 2022
What a time to be alive.
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