Animated films have long been categorized as something for children, but the years have seen millennials appreciating the genre even more. Despicable Me is one of the most popular films to hit the theaters, and its success has spawned not only a Minions movie but also its sequel, Minions: The Rise of Gru.
Over the weekend, hashtags have popped all over social media, primarily on TikTok. As a result, hundreds of posts show young adults walking into movie theaters with the hashtag “Gentleminions.”
The trend involves teenagers abandoning their casual looks to slip into a more formal attire and taking a banana (the Minions’ favorite food) with them to see Minions: The Rise of Gru.
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Videos started emerging of groups of teenage boys going up an escalator to the cinema, buying bananas, or walking into their suits.
While it is all in good fun, cinemas have not taken too lightly to the trend.
Despite their sharp looks, some of the groups’ rowdy behavior has given cinemas a headache. Unfortunately, their antics were also captured on video, with a couple of them causing a ruckus and disrupting other movie-goers.
As a result, some cinemas have enforced strict dress codes, turning away groups of teenagers from the screenings.
Days earlier, Universal Pictures, which produced the film, expressed gratitude to its fans on Twitter, saying:
“to everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you.”
While the troubles the young men caused may have dented the experience, Minions: The Rise of Gru seems to be putting up better numbers than expected.
The film became one of the biggest openings for a Fourth of July holiday weekend, breaking the record set by Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon in its first four days in 2011, making $115.9 million. With international screens, Minions: The Rise of Gru is playing in over 61 markets with a worldwide gross of $202.2 million.
“It’s a tremendous debut,” said Universal’s president of domestic distribution, Jim Orr. “It’s playing very broadly across North America, every single market is doing extraordinarily well.”
Minions: The Rise of Gru is just one of Universal’s many family releases with high revenue, following Sing 2’s $406 million and The Bad Guys’ $243 million.
“Families feel very comfortable bringing all their kids to the theater,” said Orr. “These results speak for themselves.”
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