Apr 11, 2025 09:33 PM IST
A Minecraft Movie director, Jared Hess, reacted to the police being called for throwing popcorn, disrupting screenings.
A Minecraft Movie may have delivered the biggest opening weekend of the year in Hollywood, but not without its share of chaos. Despite its box office success, the film sparked a viral TikTok trend that led to police being called to several cinemas in the US and UK, where viewers were seen throwing popcorn and disrupting screenings. Director Jared Hess addressed the viral trend in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. (Also Read: A Minecraft Movie: Digital and streaming release window revealed? Here’s what we know)
The trend began after young audience members erupted into loud cheering, applause, and popcorn-throwing when actor Jack Black shouted the phrase “chicken jockey” during the film. The outbursts quickly escalated, with moviegoers climbing on friends’ shoulders and causing disruptions in cinemas across the UK and US. According to reports, police were called to multiple locations to intervene and ask attendees to refrain from disturbing the screenings.
Jared Hess reacts to cops being called at the film’s screening
Talking about the police arriving at several theatres to control the disruption, Jared told the portal, “It’s weird when you’re having too much fun and the cops get called. It’s funny because I think it’s just literally cheering and throwing popcorn, which is so funny to me that cops are getting called for popcorn. Yeah, it’s hilarious. I’ve seen so many funny videos. It’s great, especially when people are climbing on their friends’ shoulders and standing up and cheering for those moments. It’s like this crazy anticipation. But, man, I’m just glad people are making memories with their friends and families.”
Hess also reflected on people finding joy going back to cinema, adding, “I’m just so happy that people are finding joy in going back to cinemas and seeing things as a community, as a group of people. It’s like we’ve become so isolated on our devices, and it’s just fun to experience things as a group of human beings. I think people are starved for that experience. So it’s fun that they’ve found it in this goofy movie that we’ve made.”
About A Minecraft Movie
Based on Mojang Studios’ hugely popular video game, the film features a star-studded cast including Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, and Sebastian Hansen. Upon release, the film set a new box office record, earning a staggering $313 million in its opening weekend — surpassing blockbusters like Barbie ($155 million), Inside Out 2 ($154 million), Oppenheimer ($80 million), and Wicked ($164 million).
