As “A Minecraft Movie” continues to dominate at the box office heading into its second week, there are reports of disorderly conduct as teen boys flock to theaters and act out trends circulating on social media.
These videos include moviegoers filming themselves throwing popcorn and other food and drink items and, in one instance, being kicked out for bringing a live chicken to a showing, per The Hollywood Reporter.
This behavior has led to warnings from theaters about conduct, including threats of involving law enforcement. One New Jersey theater forbade anyone under 18 from attending any showings without an adult present despite the film being rated PG.
“Large groups of unsupervised boys engaged in completely unacceptable behavior, including vandalism. We also received multiple complaints from other moviegoers who were trying to enjoy the film with their families,” Township Theatre in Washington Township, New Jersey, posted in a social media update.
“Moving forward: Any minors wishing to see The Minecraft Movie MUST be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. Unaccompanied groups of boys will not be admitted,” the statement concluded.
The bad behavior is usually aligned with the viral “chicken jockey” scene, which features Jack Black’s character Steve yelling “chicken jockey!” when a baby zombie appears on screen riding a chicken like a horse. This precedes Jason Momoa’s character, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison, fighting the zombie.
This moment has inspired moviegoers to shout the line while jumping on theater seats, screaming, and throwing popcorn, the New York Post noted.
Theater employees have also been posting images of what theaters look like after a movie showing. “These teens trashed every single theater playing this movie and since we have so many showings we had to clean them in less than 30 minutes as we had crowds outside the theater lined up to go inside!” one person shared in a YouTube video posted earlier this week, noting that some attendees are being kicked out or being forced to clean up their own messes.
“A Minecraft Movie” has grossed more than $185 million domestically and $380 million globally in just six days, outperforming expectations and putting it on pace to surpass “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
Warner Bros. has not issued a statement on the chicken jockey mayhem as of Friday.
