Kids with corn: teenagers brawl at "Minecraft in the cinema" sessions

Russian teenagers have picked up on the scandalous trend of rioting at Minecraft movie screenings. When the phrase chicken jockey is heard in the picture, they throw popcorn, applaud loudly and jump up from their seats. Cleaners become the "victims" of madness — they have to eliminate the consequences of actions that cinema administrators sometimes cannot control. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

Riots at the "Minecraft in the cinema" screenings

Minecraft in the Cinema is currently the highest—grossing film of 2025 in the United States and the second highest grossing film in the world after the Chinese animated film Nezha. In just 10 days of worldwide distribution, she earned $550 million with a budget of $150 million. The film is based on the popular worldwide Minecraft game universe. There have been talks about a film adaptation for about 10 years, so the project is long-awaited for fans. The film also increased interest in itself thanks to the star cast: Jack Black ("School of Rock", "Love of Evil"), Jason Momoa ("Game of Thrones", "Aquaman"), Jennifer Coolidge ("American Pie", "White Lotus"), Emma Myers ("Wednesday").

Jack Black's nerdy Steve had a special passion for mines since childhood, and fate gave him a gift — one day he magically found himself in the Minecraft universe, where you can build anything you want, as long as the material was square. Many years later, in the same incredible way, four losers get there, for whom Steve becomes a hero.

In the USA, the release provoked a scandalous trend. While watching, teenagers throw popcorn, shout and applaud loudly, take pictures of what is happening on their phones and upload them to social networks. Steve's phrase chicken jockey leads children into frenzied delight. It's a rare occurrence in the game when a harmless chicken is suddenly saddled by a zombie. Together they are fast and aggressive enough. If you kill a zombie and a chicken, you can get some kind of powerful game artifact, and each of these pairs has its own.

In the United States, the problem with riots reached such proportions that it was necessary to involve the lead actor Jack Black in its solution. The actor appeared in front of a Los Angeles cinema audience and from the stage appealed to prevent hooliganism. To intimidate, he swung an axe, his main weapon from the movie.

"They started shouting and waving their arms!"

The film "Minecraft in the Cinema" was released in domestic cinemas on April 12 as part of the pre-screening service. Representatives of one of the halls in Voronezh told Izvestia that a strange trend had reached their walls. But the staff quickly stopped the attempt to cause a riot.

— After one of the sessions, the teenagers started clapping and shouting loudly. They tried to scatter the popcorn, but our supervisors were attentive and stopped them in time. We have all elderly cleaners, their work still needs to be respected! And it's not nice when some viewers stop others from watching a movie," the source of Izvestia from the Voronezh cinema was indignant.

— They started shouting and waving their arms! It's a good thing that not everyone had popcorn. There were very small children in the hall. It was obvious that they were scared," Izvestia was told in Novosibirsk.

In Tyumen, the administrators of one of the cinemas, fearing that the trend might start to gain momentum, decided to prudently appeal to the conscience of young viewers.

— We've heard about the flash mob, and we've been preparing for it in advance. Before the show, the controller came out and warned the guys not to throw popcorn. The film has been playing in our cinema for several days and, fortunately, so far without incident, the guys are well-mannered, they listen to the advice of adults. Of course, this is encouraging," a source in Tyumen told Izvestia.

I am a cube: the movie "Minecraft in the cinema" was leaked online on the day of the premiere

Russians will have to wait for the movie on the big screen for another week, but it is already available online.

A special excitement around the release of "Minecraft in the cinema" on wide screens was noted in Tver. In one of the local cinemas, Izvestia was told that the sessions were filled with teenagers, but they were not violent, because most of the children were accompanied by their parents.

"They don't have time for pranks in the presence of moms and dads, they immediately run home to do their homework after the session," the administrator said.

In Russia, the problem is still local and has not reached the level of the Cinema Owners' Association.

— I have not received any data, — said its head Alexey Voronkov.

There is another trend in Russia, more positive and unrelated to lawlessness — the growing interest in literature in the category of "Minecraft".

— In the 13 days after the release of the film, revenue from Minecraft books increased by 50% compared to the previous similar period, — representatives of the Litres book service told Izvestia.

The top 3 most popular works since the film's release include audiobooks dubbed by Alexander Slutsky and Oleg Vakhrushev, "Steve's Diary. Book 15. The Island of Bad Luck", "Steve's Diaries. All adventures in Minecraft", "The Square journey continues! Books 6-10".