LONDON | Several British cinemas have banned access to teenagers in costumes who came to see the latest opus in the saga of Minions due to the rowdiness caused by some young spectators encouraged by a movement on TikTok.
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Following the #gentleminions trend, groups of teenagers in suits and ties imitating the main character, Felonius Gru, and his signature gestures, disrupted screenings of the film released Friday in the United Kingdom, filming themselves and posting on social networks videos that have gone viral.
“Due to a small number of incidents at our cinemas over the weekend, we had to restrict access in certain circumstances,” said a spokesperson for the Odeon cinema chain.
The Mallard, the Channel Island of Guernsey’s only cinema, stopped showing the film due to ‘incredibly bad behaviour’ by some groups.
Cinema director Daniel Phillips-Smith told the BBC that these young moviegoers had “thrown things, swore” and argued with other viewers during screenings.
An independent cinema in Wadebridge, Cornwall, The Regal, warned on Twitter: ‘We are currently not admitting unaccompanied minors wearing costumes for The Minions 2: Once Upon a Time Gru».
This animated film, whose broadcast was postponed by two years by Universal because of the pandemic, explores the origins of the main character of the franchise who, since the first part Me, ugly and mean in 2010 brought in $3.7 billion at the box office, according to the specialized site IMDB, not counting the multiple derivatives.
Released Friday in the United States, the United Kingdom and China, before a release Wednesday in France, this film dates back to the beginnings of Gru, the endearing villain failed in this saga who, teenager and surrounded by an army of Minions, seeks to integrate a group of villains, the Vicious 6.
Universal, which produced this animated film, for its part approved of the runaway, tweeting: “to all those who show up at the @Minions in costumes: we see you and we love you”.
