Teenagers wearing suits have been banned from attending certain screenings of Minions: The Rise of Gru as a result of a viral trend that prompted disruptive behavior.
Young people in upscale attire have filmed themselves collectively watching the film while snacking on bananas and mimicking Felonius Gru’s raised-finger gesture; however, some have disrupted screenings.
Groups of young people dressed formally have filmed themselves attending the latest installment of the Despicable Me franchise and uploaded the footage to the social media application TikTok.
It is unknown where the trend originated, but the #gentleminions videos depict suited groups in countries across the globe attending screenings of the film while adopting the signature steepled fingers hand gesture of the main antagonist, supervillain Felanius Gru.
Videos with millions of views on the application depict groups celebrating “the five-year wait is over.”
Some were spotted snacking on bananas during the screenings, a reference to the preferred food of Gru’s yellow minions.
And while the majority of social media posts do not depict any disorderly behavior on the part of those participating in the trend, others suggest that groups have been disruptive at certain cinemas.
Videos and social media posts suggested that some groups had cheered and clapped loudly during screenings, with some individuals allegedly throwing popcorn and other items at one another.
This has prompted some cinemas in the United Kingdom to implement dress code restrictions, with one independent cinema in Wadebridge, Cornwall, prohibiting unaccompanied children in suits from watching the film.
In a statement posted to Twitter before being deleted, The Regal stated, “At this time, we are unable to admit unaccompanied children wearing suits to “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
This is a result of the problems we’ve encountered over the past two days and the behavior associated with them.
A spokesperson for Odeon cinemas stated, “Due to a small number of incidents that occurred over the weekend in our theatres, we have been forced to restrict access in certain instances.”
The film’s producer, Universal Pictures, endorsed the #gentleminions trend by tweeting, “to everyone attending Minions in suits: we see you and we love you.”
