Groups of smartly dressed youngsters are filming themselves watching the latest episode of the Despicable Me franchise and posting the footage on social media app TikTok. It’s not clear where the trend originated, but the #gentleminions videos show suited groups in countries around the world watching the screenings while adopting the central character’s signature finger gesture, supervillain Felonius Gru. Videos that have racked up millions of views on the app show teams celebrating “the five-year wait is over”. Some were seen picking up bananas to nibble on during screenings, a reference to the favorite food of Gru’s yellow sidekicks, called Minions. And while the majority of social media posts did not depict any disorderly behavior from those taking part in the trend, others suggested groups had been disruptive in some cinemas. Videos and posts showed some groups cheering and clapping loudly during the screenings, with some throwing popcorn and other objects at each other. This has led some UK cinemas to impose dress code restrictions, with an independent cinema in Wadebridge, Cornwall, banning unaccompanied children in costume from watching the film. In a statement posted on Twitter before it was deleted, The Regal wrote: “At this time we do not accept unaccompanied children in costume for ‘Minions: The Rise Of Gru.’ “This is due to the issues we’ve been dealing with over the last couple of days and his related behavior.” And a spokesman for Odeon cinemas said: “Due to a small number of incidents at our cinemas over the weekend, we have had to restrict access in some cases.” The film studio Universal Pictures, which produced the film, had supported the #gentleminions trend, writing on Twitter “to everyone who appears in Minions in costume: we see you and love you”.
