Several UK cinemas have banned young people from wearing formal attire during screenings of the recently-released animated film ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’. It is due to unruly behavior fuelled by a bizarre new trend on TikTok. The film was released last week. Notably, hoards of youngsters have been flocking to cinema halls wearing suits and referring to themselves as ‘Gentleminions’.
As the trend grew in popularity, more teens started filming themselves cheering loudly. They were mimicking the film’s characters while dressed in formal attire. While these videos have racked up millions of views on social media, cinemas have been less appreciative. Many venues have been forced to cancel further screenings of the film. Moreover, some have had to offer refunds to other disgruntled audience members who weren’t in for the joke.
About the trend
The trend began last week. It was after the latest ‘Despicable Me’ spinoff, starring animated supervillain Gru and his army of yellow henchmen, released in theatres around the world. The hashtag #gentleminion quickly began to trend on the social media site Tik Tok.
As part of the trend, groups of teenage boys across the world have been dressing up in suits to attend screenings of the movie. The movie is primarily targeted at younger children. They have been filming themselves clapping loudly, cheering, and copying some of the behaviors of the film’s protagonist, supervillain Felonious Gru, including his signature steepled fingers hand gesture.
