Sevenoaks cinema ejects group from A Minecraft Movie screening

BBC News

15-04-2025

A cinema in Kent has said it had to eject a group of people during a screening of A Minecraft Movie due to rowdy behaviour sparked by a TikTok trend. The film stars Jason Momoa and Jack Black and is based on a popular video game which was launched in 2011.There have been reports from cinemas across the country of viewers taking part in a TikTok trend of throwing popcorn, food and drinks, and shouting at certain moments during the film.Tony McEwen, deputy chief executive of the Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks, said: "Since the opening weekend, we've had a few incidents and it's mostly groups of young boys aged between 11 to 14.
"We ejected one group of seven young people who were being particularly rowdy."He added patrons thanked him and his staff for asking the group to leave. Sam from Tunbridge Wells, who went to watch A Minecraft Movie, told Radio Kent it was the "worst cinema experience of his life"."I just wanted to chill out to a funny film and it turned out to be a disaster," he said."The screening was full of teenage boys who talked through the entire film and they were daring each other to shout silly things."Sam added the teenagers would stand up, cheer and throw food whenever Jack Black's character, Steve, quoted anything which referenced a meme."I left the cinema with lettuce down me and they were really rude about female characters," he said.
'Visceral and legitimate'
Mr McEwen said there was a fine line between people immersing themselves in the full cinema experience tastefully and being disruptive to the point which "ruins" it for other viewers.He told Radio Kent about his personal experience of going to the cinema in his youth."I was a sci-fi fan. I remember going to see the Star Wars films and I and many others cheered when Yoda was involved in his first lightsaber duel," he said.Mr McEwen said it was a "visceral and legitimate reaction" because viewers had been long-time fans of the franchise and the reaction was emotional rather than sparked by a social media trend. He said the cinema had a similar experience back in 2022 when Minions: The Rise of Gru was screening. "There was a TikTok trend called Gentle Minions and young people dressed up in suits and were rowdy during the film," he said.