Not so gentle: New TikTok trend ‘Gentleminions’ sees teens in suits raise hackles of staff at UK cinemas
- 05 Jul 2022
Gulf Today Report
A visit to a cinema – with your family, partner, friends, or just plain alone – is something to look forward to for many movie buffs. Propped up with popcorn and cola, it is sheer bliss for them as they soak in the essence of a thriller, a romcom or a tearjerker of a melodrama.
Youngsters account for a bulk of cinegoers, and many dressed in casual or smart casual wear maintain peace and decorum in the theatre. But what happens when you have roisterous youngsters roaring their hearts out, that too in formal attire, while the movie is being shown? People just walk out, midway, claiming thousands in refunds from the harried cinema authorities.
READ MORE
Tom Cruise: 'Mission Impossible' director shares death-defying stunt photo for actors 60th birthday
Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani's public sculpture unveiled in NYC
Blame it on a weird TikTok trend. Thanks to this fad, ‘Gentleminions,’ teenagers kitted out identically in suits arrive at cinemas in the UK to watch the new Minions: The Rise of Gru film, and record themselves on social media.
However, it is their rowdy behaviour – cheering, applauding and mimicking the Minion characters – that has unsettled other cinegoers.
The discontented movie watchers have walked out of the screening midway and demanded refunds so some cinemas are banning any groups who turn up in formal wear.
One manager of a Vue Cinema in Worcester said they were compelled to fork out £1,300 towards refunds in just a single day due to complaints from customers, according to the Independent.
Now, staff have issued them a caveat that if there is one complaint from cinegoers, they will be thrown out of the hall.
One sign posted outside a cinema said that those dressed in suits would be refused entry to the movie.
One person posted their version on Twitter and said: “I love being Gen Z. We have so much power.”