Several movie theaters in the United Kingdom are banning teens wearing dress suits from attending showings of Minions: The Rise of Gru. The formally-dressed youths have been accused of noisy, disruptive behavior that ruins the movie experience for other customers.
The dapper disturbances stem from a TikTok trend called #gentleminions that has gone viral throughout the UK.
Videos on social media show snappily-dressed teens coming to theaters in large groups, clapping and cheering loudly in the theater. Some bring bananas — a favorite snack of minions — or stuffed minion dolls which they throw about the theater. The suits and ties are a nod to Gru, the franchise’s main character.
“Unaccompanied minors” wearing suits are banned from Wadebridge, Cornwall’s Regal Cinema.
In a statement initially posted on Twitter and then deleted, The Regal reportedly wrote:
“We are currently not admitting unaccompanied children wearing suits for Minions: The Rise Of Gru. This is due to the issues we have encountered over the last two days and its associated behavior.”
Oden Cinemas posted 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 only theater in Guernsey had to stop showing the Minions movie altogether due to “stunningly bad behavior,” including reported vandalism, thrown objects, and abuse of staff.
Due to the uncontrollable nature of the situation, Mallard Cinema manager Daniel Phillips-Smith says he had to issue hundreds of refunds to viewers whose movie experience was disturbed, which resulted in a “major financial impact.”
“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,” Phillips-Smith told the BBC.
Universal Pictures supported the #gentleminions trend by tweeting, “To everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you, and we love you.”
The Minions franchise was born out of 2010’s Despicable Me movie. Minions: The Rise of Gru tells the story of how Gru came to be a villain with hundreds of yellow minions as his henchmen.
The second installment of the Minions series brought in an impressive $127.9 million in box office sales over the Fourth of July weekend, breaking an Independence Day record.