Chicken jockey! A Minecraft Movie is causing chaos in cinemas and debate over audience etiquette

Natalie Stechyson · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 07, 2025 1:23 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Official reviews of A Minecraft Movie were lukewarm astatine champion and one-star astatine worst.

Various headlines astir the satellite declared the movie starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, "cobbled together," "bizarre," a "hyperactive hot-pink mess," a "blunt entity utilized to bushed you into submission" and "good capable — if you deliberation that's each kids deserve."

But the kids person spoken, and not lone has the movie adaption of the wildly fashionable video crippled smashed box-office records, but it's inspired a rowdy, audience-interactive theatre inclination that immoderate observers are describing arsenic The Rocky Horror Picture Show for children. It's also sparked debate over cinema etiquette.

Moviegoers person shared videos connected societal media of audiences clapping, cheering, shouting retired lines and throwing popcorn during fashionable moments successful the film, which opened Friday and had earned $163 million US successful summons income from theaters successful the U.S. and Canada implicit the weekend.

One TikTok video with 7.8 cardinal views ranked the apical 10 movie moments successful the theatre and showed the assemblage screaming retired immoderate of Black's lines like, "flint and steel!" and "I americium Steve," and going perfectly feral to "Chicken Jockey!" — the second referring to a country wherever Momoa and Black person to combat a babe zombie riding a chicken.

"My theatre clapped each clip Jack Black sanction dropped a Minecraft point that was successful the trailers, and erstwhile helium said Chicken Jockey I shit you not the full enactment successful beforehand of maine gave a lasting ovation," wrote 1 idiosyncratic successful a viral station connected X with 1.2 cardinal views.

"The full cinema repeated Flint & Steel, I americium Steve, and f--king erupted successful hooting, hollering and applause aft each fundamentally yelling Chicken Jockey," wrote idiosyncratic other connected X.

Another described it arsenic "the wildest theatre acquisition of my life," noting that the assemblage — mostly preteens — were "cheering, clapping, and jumping onto the tops of seats."

"Whenever Jack Black sang, the kids would get up and commencement dancing successful the aisles. They acted similar this wasn't a movie, but a stone concert," the poster went on.

"It was a implicit look of a premix of genuine emotion for Minecraft and irony poisoning and the effect was axenic chaos for 100 oregon truthful minutes. This is astir apt the due mode to spot this film."

'Rocky Horror for Gen Alpha'

The improvement has been described online arsenic "peak assemblage energy," and reminiscent of the fandom and excitement implicit the Star Wars movies.

The viral moments person been compared to the assemblage interactions by beloved cult classics The Room (where radical propulsion spoons, among different cardinal moments) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (which has full scripts and guides dedicated to the athletics of watching the film).

Online, radical person said A Minecraft Movie is basically "Rocky Horror for Gen Alpha and Z."

"We made the movie for the fans and the fans exceeded our expectations," Michael DeLuca, the co-chair and CEO of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said successful a statement, according to The Associated Press.

But not everyone is overjoyed with the rowdy and enthusiastic reactions elicited by A Minecraft Movie.

Some assemblage members person described a little enjoyable experience, 1 that's annoying and disruptive, ruining the movie for them. 

Similarly, theatre chains had to pass radical to halt singing during the Wicked movie, which besides prompted a speech astir cellphone usage successful theatres as footage of the opening rubric went viral connected societal media.

WATCH | Wicked fans urged to halt singing: 

Several cinemas contented warnings

On Reddit, movie theatre employees person shared photos of the messes near down by popcorn-hurling audiences.

"These groups of radical person been a wreck and a mess," 1 worker wrote connected the societal media platform.

"Apparently trashing theatres is present a TikTok trend," wrote another.

"People don't cognize however to enactment successful nationalist anymore," wrote different person.

At slightest 1 video appears to amusement constabulary being called to the theatre and escorting a radical of boys out. And several theatres successful the U.K. person issued warnings that rowdy behaviour isn't welcome.

"Disruptive behaviour, including taking portion successful TikTok trends, before, during, oregon aft a screening volition not beryllium tolerated," a spokesperson for REEL Cinema successful Fareham told the Daily Echo.

"To guarantee everyone has the champion imaginable cinema experience, we're expanding our monitoring of screens during performance," the spokesperson said, adding they would telephone constabulary if necessary.

Scott Cinemas successful the UK besides issued a warming, a cinema successful Glasgow has besides asked movie-goers to beryllium respectful, and different warnings look to beryllium posted to societal media.

One warning, posted to Reddit, shows the viral chickenhearted jockey successful each its glory.

"We cognize the chickenhearted jockey is epic," says the post. "But delight don't propulsion popcorn oregon brushed drinks astatine the screen."