With the long-delayed release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, the world of Despicable Me is back on the big screen for the first time in five years—and some movie theaters having problems with overenthusiastic fans. Groups of teens inspired by the TIkTok #Gentleminions fad have been attending screenings wearing suits, and several British cinemas have banned young people in formal attire because of bad behavior, the BBC reports. Staff at one theater in Cornwall says the well-dressed young people have been "cheering, clapping, whooping," and rising to their feet, making it hard for younger fans to enjoy the movie.
Other theaters have reported "stunningly bad behavior," including vandalism and throwing things at the screen. Some theaters in the Odeon chain have put up signs reading, "Due to recent disturbances following the #GentleMinions trend, any group of guests in formal attire will be refused entry for showings of Minions: The Rise of Gru." The trend apparently started in Australia, where the movie was released on June 23, earlier than other markets, Variety reports.
Obie, a teenager in Maryland, tells Variety that everybody was well behaved when he joined friends for a Rise of Gru screening, where they encountered another group of young people in suits. He says the trend may have taken off because people who grew up with the Despicable Me series "now have nostalgia and enough money to see it on our own. We’ll be inclined to do so in our own way. It’s funny to see how that turns into such a big trend." Universal Pictures, meanwhile, has embraced the fad. To "everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you," Universal, the movie's distributor, tweeted Friday. (More movie theaters stories.)
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