By: Tina Wu

Many movie theaters have banned groups of young men in suits from coming to watch Minions: The Rise of Gru. They post videos of this on TikTok, where many gain millions of views and likes. They use the hashtag #gentleminions to participate in the trend.

Minions: The Rise of Gru grossed $164 million in its first week in theaters. As these people come in groups at around 20, and tickets cost around $10 each. Some groups even rent a whole theater for themselves, which costs around $300. As of now, the movie has grossed almost $4 billion. This has been a cause celebration for Universal, the studio that released the movie, but not so much for theaters. Although most #gentleminions groups do not cause much trouble, one video showed people throwing bananas at the screen.

There are so many things wrong with the actions in the video: First, the video shouldn’t even have existed. Afterall, there should be no filming in theaters. Second, there should be no outside food in theaters. Though many people break that rule, they usually bring drinks or small snacks. Not bananas. Third, throwing bananas is a form of vandalism, which could result in fines. Fourth, there should be no loud noises so everyone can enjoy the movie. These teenagers paid money to watch a movie, but ended up acting like toddlers.

After being warned to stop disrupting, the group continued the noise. Eventually security was called and everyone in that theater was kicked out. Behavior like this is completely absurd, but banning #gentleminions as a whole could decrease the amount of money the movie makes.

Many participants have admitted that they “didn’t like the movie,” and “thought it was mediocre at the best.” They spent their money to rent a theater and watch a movie they don’t even like to get views and likes on social media.

“I think we’re just bored,” one gentleminion said. “There’s not really anything else better to do.”