Police forced to intervene after viral TikTok trend overruns a screening of ‘A Minecraft Movie’

In news that has the faint whiff of Minions, a viral TikTok craze has begun to sweep screenings of A Minecraft Movie, prompting police intervention in at least one cinema.

In case you missed it (perhaps your algorithm is lagging), the recent release of A Minecraft Movie has prompted a social media craze — dubbed the ‘Chicken Joey’ trend — in which cinema-goers interrupt a specific scene in the movie. The scene in question sees Jack Black, who plays the character of Steve, shout “chicken Joey!” as he and Jason Mamoa’s Garet Garrison face off in a boxing ring against a Minecraft chicken. The scene itself is a reference to the original Minecraft video game (upon which the film is based), and moviegoers are evidently enthused about it to the point of loudly chanting “chicken Joey” during screenings across the country.

Happened to overhear a Chicken Jockey moment pic.twitter.com/TUvwMqrZRq

— Loke🌻 (@InsaneLoke) April 5, 2025

the minecraft movie is truly one of the worst movies i’ve ever seen but the universal reaction to “chicken jockey” im seeing made it all worth it. pic.twitter.com/0mxgliSYEp

— ollie 🧡🤍🩷 (@ollie_twt) April 5, 2025

In some cases, the craze has also reportedly led audiences to throw their popcorn at the screen (in this economy?!), as well as openly record the scene on their phones or otherwise engage in rowdy tomfoolery. The frenzied reaction to the film (which surprisingly wasn’t in response to its almost universally loathed animation style) was kicked into high gear over the weekend, amid reports that the ‘Chicken Joey’ trend led to police intervention at least one screening of A Minecraft Movie. In clips of the incident, police officers are seen patrolling the aisles and escorting a group of movie-goers out of the cinema. 

So widespread is the craze that it’s even reached England, where a theater in Fareham called REEL Cinemas was forced to issue a warning ahead of future screenings of A Minecraft Movie. A spokesperson for the cinema chain said that, in response to the craze, it would be “increasing our monitoring of screens during performances,” (per Daily Echo) adding that “disruptive behavior, including taking part in TikTok trends, before, during, or after a screening will not be tolerated.” REEL Cinemas even went as far as warning any would-be ‘Chicken Joey’ participants that “police will be called” if any disruptions go too far. Is that a dare?

Police were called to a screening of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ following a disruption during the “chicken jockey” scene.

(🎥 : salesmenpod on TikTok) pic.twitter.com/5aFPSL2hRS

— Pop Base (@PopBase) April 6, 2025

I need to know, are there people who actually enjoy watching a movie like this? pic.twitter.com/v9NSSe0sqd

— Andrew (Toycat) (@ibxtoycat) April 5, 2025

Warner Bros. is probably secretly delighted by the virality of its latest film, especially as A Minecraft Movie makes impressive (and somewhat unexpected) moves at the box office. The film, which also stars Jennifer Coolidge and Kate McKinnon, scored a mammoth $301 million at the global box office during its opening weekend, putting it within the realm of usurping The Super Mario Bros. Movie as the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time. However, it’s not the only film to inspire a widespread (and let’s face, somewhat bizarre) cinema craze. 

Back in 2022, Minions: The Rise of Gru was overshadowed by the so-called #Gentleminions trend that precipitated it, which saw legions of moviegoers attend screenings of the film dressed in formal attire. Since we can’t have nice things, the craze led to some screenings of the film being cancelled altogether, likely to the dismay of the minions themselves (“Bi-do,” they might say disheartedly in Minionese). In any case, it’s unlikely this ‘Chicken Joey’ trend will die down anytime soon, but let’s at least try to waste as little popcorn as possible, ok guys?