The Movement that Was Minions: Rise of Gru
- Calan Mengel
- Jul 29, 2022
- 5 min read
I'd like to take the time to go back and reminisce about the beginning of July where we had the infamous drop of Minions: Rise of Gru... but wasn't really the movie that was the most exhilarating news of the month; it was the moviegoers.
Some #GentleMinions on the left, with a screenshot of Otto, one of the minions in the movie, on the right. Photos sourced from Polygon and The New York Times.
Animated films can be a really great hit at the box office and can attract a great crowd of moviegoers. Sometimes these crowds are younger, sometimes they cover all ages, and sometimes, they attract a middle ground. A veeeery interesting middle ground.
It's been 12 years- yes, 12 YEARS, since the debut of the original movie, Despicable Me. Despicable Me did well at the box office, with a budget of 69 million and making 543.2 million worldwide. From that first movie, we got Despicable Me 2 in 2013, Minions in 2015, and Despicable Me 3 in 2017. The last time we had a piece of the minions was back in 2018 with a short entitled, Yellow is the New Black. Now, in 2022, we have another film (and a Despicable Me 4 on the way for 2024).
As the franchise has grown, we've got the usual humdrum of merchandise, plushies, figurines, and Facebook mom posts. Now, we're up on top, with iHop sponsoring the new movie with special menu items. But there's a meme, a hashtag, that has been swimming around social media bringing a whole new level to Despicable Me.
One of the many TikToks of this trend, posted by @lyndon.c.
"What the hell was that?"
If you're an avid TikTok user, there are chances you've come across this trend. The idea was to get a large group of people together, usually teenagers, dressed up in suits (traditionally), who are going to see Minions: Rise of Gru. It's commonly paired with the song Rich Minion by Yeat.
Dressing up to go to the movies isn't something new. What was new about this particular trend is that it has gotten to a level of rowdiness that has sparked debate between pretty much everyone, and has movie theaters turning away young patrons in suits.
On one hand, you may argue that this trend was good for the movie-- the film is getting crazy amounts of exposure and ticket sales must be through the roof. Some teens are having fun, doing something pretty benign, and seeing the next movie in the lineup of this franchise.
In the TikTok above, posted by wixmovs, you can see how intense these outings can get.
On the other hand, you're scrolling on social media and see videos of teens absolutely partying in the theaters, dancing and throwing things in a theatre at full capacity. Many news stations had covered this story and had mentioned accounts where people have even brought bananas into the theatre and thrown it at the screen.
This video really sums it all up, sourced by WFAA's YouTube channel.
As mentioned in the video above, these situations had made theater owners turn to alternatives ways to keep the levels down for other patrons looking to just enjoy a movie. In Jamie Lang's post on Cartoon Brew, he touched on Mallard Cinema's accounts in Guernsey in the British Isles:
"Mallard Cinema in Guernsey reported “stunningly bad behavior” of large groups who threw things at the screen, swore loudly, and hurled abuse at other moviegoers and cinema staff. Police were called twice to the cinema last weekend. According to the cinema’s manager Daniel Phillips-Smith, the interrupted screenings have had a massive financial impact on the theater “simply due to the large amount of refunds we’ve had to give.” He predicts as many as 200 refunds were issued over the weekend."
To top that off, many cinemas had placed warning signs on their doors, saying that they can and will turn away large groups of guests dressed in suits who want tickets for Minions: Rise of Gru.
To the right is a photo posted by @gillduds on Twitter that was posted on the doors at an Odeon Cinema.
So, how had the public taken to the trend? In all honesty, it looked to be about half-and-half. Within two weeks of the movie's debut, I had asked a multitude of people what they thought about the trend, from my boss to my fellow blog writers. Most everyone had a specific thing to say about the trend.
I received a decent amount of, "It's so stupid", and, "Why would anyone do that, it's disruptive" comments, which doesn't phase me at all. Yes, some of these screenings are extremely uncalled for, especially when taking into consideration other movie goers and the staff at the theatre who have to clean any messes up (especially if they're cleaning up smashed bananas, I'm so sorry if you've had to do this).
I also completely understand the fact that when groups become rowdy, it can really hurt the movie theatre financially. Knowing that refunds had to be given to patrons, specifically parents with young children, who were unfortunately stuck in the tornado that was #GentleMinions, is saddening. Even I would be pretty upset if I went to a screening and was greeted by a slue of high school boys throwing bananas a the movie screen and yelling-- I would definitely have wanted a refund.
How some people be walking out of the movie theatre (aka, pissed off). Photo sourced from People Magazine's website.
On the flip side, I've found some people get a lot of joy out of the trend, specifically the ones that at least looked more respectful compared to the crazy partying. There's definitely no issue with a group of people sitting quietly to watch a movie, with some appropriate laughs here and there (after all, I highly believe movies should be enjoyed this way... having an audience audibly laugh during comedic parts of movies or gasp during shocking parts is refreshing and fun). Some people even go to say that it's really the equivalent to the Rock Horror Picture Show, though, RHPS is usually done in one theatre, planned, with the intent of all the crazy stuff happening, the yelling, the throwing, and the acting.
Personally, I have no problem with dressing up, taking a big group, and going to go see a movie. I do have a problem with really disturbing other folks at the movie theatre and or creating a crazy mess for employees to clean up later. It's hard to not laugh a bit at the videos seen on TikTok, especially because it was born to confuse the older generations. It's silly, goofy, and doesn't quite make a lot of sense, yet it makes perfect sense. It's the Minions! It's Gru! He's a super villian!
The most intriguing part of it all is seeing major celebrities do the challenge, specifically seeing famous YouTuber and entrepreneur MrBeast rent out a whole theatre and fill it to the brim with viewers. It was also interesting to see the official Minions TikTok account post a small animation about the trend, which I found to be pretty funny. If it's a popular trend, why not lean into it? (Very good business move in my eyes).
The official video responding to the trend, posted by minions on TikTok.
The big takeaway here is that, to me, this was the most interesting audience reaction to a movie coming out this year, specifically in July-- and it's not new news! As mentioned before, The RHPS essentially does the same thing. I'm interested to when another trend like this happens again, what movie it will be for, and what the trend will consist of (and how "disruptive" it will be).
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