Cinemas ban teenagers wearing suits after #gentleminions trend prompts rowdy behaviour

Jul 05, 2022

Teenagers wearing suits have been banned from some screenings of Minions: The Rise Of Gru after a viral trend prompted rowdy behaviour.

Groups of young people dressed in smart attire have been filming themselves attending the latest instalment in the Despicable Me franchise and posting the footage on social media app TikTok.

It is unclear where the trend originated but the #gentleminions videos show suited groups in countries across the world attending the screenings while adopting the signature steepled fingers hand gesture of the main character, supervillain Felonius Gru.

Videos that have racked up millions of views on the app show groups celebrating “the five-year wait is over”.

Some were seen taking bananas to snack on during the screenings, a reference to the favourite food of Gru’s yellow helpers, called Minions.

And while the majority of the posts on social media do not depict any disorderly behaviour from those taking part in the trend, others suggested groups had been disruptive at some cinemas.

Videos and posts indicated some groups had been cheering and clapping loudly during screenings, with some allegedly hurling popcorn and other items at each other.

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This has led some UK cinemas to enforce dress code restrictions, with one independent cinema in Wadebridge, Cornwall, banning unaccompanied children wearing suits from watching the film.

In a statement posted on Twitter before being deleted, The Regal 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 behaviour.”

And spokesperson for Odeon cinemas said: “Due to a small number of incidents in our cinemas over the weekend we have had to restrict access in some circumstances.”

Movie studio Universal Pictures, which produced the film, had endorsed the #gentleminions trend, tweeting “to everyone showing up to Minions in suits: we see you and we love you”.

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