If you hang out on social networks regularly, you must have seen videos of young women and men going to the cinema on their 31, and this to go see… The Minions 2: Once upon a time Gru. The hashtag #gentleminions already has more than 21 million views on TikTok, the numbers are only climbing, and this is only the beginning. An incongruity that has prompted cinemas in England to ban this mode – yes, establishments refuse now categorically the entry into dark rooms to any group in costume – even as the film explodes the numbers at the box office. But where does this fashion come from, and why have we come to this ban? A undoubtedly ironic trend with real consequences It is difficult to find the origin of this absurd trend, but it seems that all this mess comes from a meme having emerged in late 2020. It was used to conjure up the idea of going to see Minions 2 being over-sapped. And we have to believe that the joke was taken at face value. It remains to be seen why the valve materialized on this particular film. Perhaps because it is the antithesis of “chic”, or to make fun of “boomers” sharing Minions content. Still, for most, the desire to see the film is real – the first Despicable Me having been released in 2010, the children who grew up with this franchise are now young adults. Add to that the fact that there hasn’t been a installment since Despicable Me 3 in 2017, and you’ll understand why the sauce took so easily. According to Variety, the first TikTok videos of the genre have appeared in Australia , where the film was released a week earlier, on June 23. And the movement becomes consequent. Enough for some cinemas in England to prohibit access to spectators on their 31, because behind the valve hides behavior deemed “abusive”. Some reportedly shouted and threw things at the screen during the sessions. Still, it’s a boon for the franchise. The Hollywood Reporter reports that 34% of the film’s audience across the Atlantic was between 13 and 17 years old. Which is exactly the audience concerned by memes, but it is above all a question of an age group that we see less and less of in theaters – at least for an animated film. Result: the film was a hit in its early days. With a national holiday Monday in the United States, it is the biggest box office of this weekend of Independence Day, with 125 million collected on the national territory. It would also make it the biggest start of the saga. No wonder Universal wanted to thank its fans in suits and ties. With us, the film is released this Wednesday, July 6 in theaters. It remains to be seen whether this trend will cross borders.
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