You’ve seen it on TikTok– popcorn flying in the air, teenagers jumping out of their seats, practically everyone in the theater screaming “Chicken Jockey!”
You may have even seen this trend in person, at your very own local movie theater in the past week. I know I did.
The Minecraft Movie has been doing phenomenal in the box office, earning $163 million domestically on its opening weekend, and currently sitting at $550 globally. Why? First, it’s so bad that it’s good. If I had to count on my fingers how many of the movie’s cringe moments have been turned into memes, I’d need at least one more hand.
But the crazier reason everyone is seeing the movie has nothing to do with the film at all, but rather with what’s happening with the people in the theater. It’s been trending on TikTok and Instagram to recite scenes mid-movie, wear Minecraft costumes, and give Jack Black’s infamous chicken jockey line a standing ovation.
The film has turned into an experience, and a not-so-good one.
In my opinion, the above-stated goofiness should be the extent of the filmgoers’ fun and shenanigans. But we teenagers have been going a bit too far with the Minecraft Movie wildness.
Throwing food and drinks up into the air, yelling less-than-appropriate commentary, bringing live chickens into the theater, for goodness sake it’s a kid’s movie, but those under 13 are acting more mature than the teens and adults.
It might seem like harmless fun, but before you buy popcorn specifically for the purpose of launching the bucket into the sky, I ask you to think about the workers that have to clean up that mess.
Within my personal experience, a few rows down from me, a dad got splashed with somebody’s food and drink, which resulted in him yelling some choice words at another person. The kid a row behind me started crying.
Our fun has made it difficult for almost half of the intended audience, young children, to enjoy the film. Now I’m by no means a young child, and I only played Minecraft on creative mode as a kid, so I don’t exactly fit the target audience. But if I did fit that criteria, I’d be really upset if something I wanted to enjoy constantly got yelled over.
If I couldn’t hear the movie, I can’t imagine anyone else, including the people who genuinely wanted to watch, could hear it either.
I’m not telling you to stop having fun. My friends or brother can tell you, I knew those lines my theater chanted as well as the next person. I just believe we should carry a bit more awareness. Given how objectively bad the Minecraft Movie is, it’s easy to forget there might be people that genuinely want to watch it.
But as the older audience in the theater, it might be time to leave enjoying the Minecraft Movie to the kids of today, and not the kids of 10 years ago.
