By Dylan Callaghan

A hush falls over the masses as we all brace for the inevitable destruction. Quiet whispers drift across the room, only to be silenced by the booming sounds that fill this cavernous chamber. I clutch my belongings and take shelter in the far back corner, the only place where I might find any kind of refuge. This anarchical chaos has stricken fear into every individual in attendance, yet nobody dares to leave. I am of course talking about… A Minecraft Movie.

First released on April 4, the movie grossed at least $163 million domestically in its opening weekend. So far, it has been the most successful domestic release of a movie in 2025. It is also the most successful movie adaptation of a video game in history. The game Minecraft, a sandbox game that allows players to both build and survive in worlds they can create, has seen massive success, becoming the best-selling video game of all time since its initial release in 2011.

The movie stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa and features many other talented actors and actresses. It follows a young man, played by Sebastian Hansen, growing up in the fictional town of Chuglas, Idaho, who is transported to an alternate Minecraft dimension. Once he is there, he and his newly acquired friends must take on many villains derived from the game of Minecraft in order to return home. 

While its box office numbers reflect its popularity, the movie could be reviewed in one word: abysmal. Its generic action movie style is only further worsened by its dull plot. While the movie itself might seem so incredibly captivating, that is not what has made it so famous… and infamous. 

Before the movie initially premiered, clips of Black portraying his character, Steve, began to go viral across multiple social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram Reels. As a result of this, it seemed there was only one way to respond to these quotes and scenes when they were shown in theaters: throw anything and everything possible at the screen.

The mess left in a theater after a Minecraft Movie screening.
Photo courtesy of Reddit user @zapmaster3125.

Many viral videos have begun surfacing of rowdy fans throwing things like popcorn, full drink cups, and various other items at the screen when specific quotes are said during the movie. Quotes such as “Chicken Jockey!” and “Flint and Steel!” have become notorious among film fans, attracting thunderous applause and a rowdy crowd reaction whenever they are said in the movie. Not only do people throw things at the screen, but they have begun getting on the shoulders of another moviegoer, and one fan even brought a live chicken to the theater.

As someone who had heard all of this hype, initially walking into Regal Cinemas Short Pump on that Saturday night felt like stepping into an alternate dimension. In an age where the movie theater isn’t typically bustling, I was greeted in the lobby by a surge of people, with the bright lights and aromatic smells that brought the theater back to its former glory. However, this wasn’t the theater that I had come to know and love. The lobby was packed with teenagers, all of them with that guilty grin on their faces, and I even noticed one boy holding a rotisserie chicken in his hands. It was at that moment that my friends and I began to realize the cataclysmic event we were about to witness.

Once the movie began inside the theater, each cheesy, action movie-style line that was said in the movie was followed by thunderous applause. However, each viral line that was said in the film seemed to add to the already-building tension. For a little while, the environment in the theater seemed to be that of the average children’s movie. Some lighthearted laughter was scattered throughout our time there, quiet conversation seemed to drift across the seats, and the scurry of younger children seemed eager just to get out of the house. In short, the theater had an innocent and child-friendly vibe. And then it happened. 

Madness as the Chicken Jockey is shown in the film. Photo courtesy of Cultura Colectiva.

The words echoed out across the theater and struck fear into the hearts of each audience member. For a single moment, the entire theater seemed to stand still. The silence was swiftly broken by the sight and sound of a full cup of Coke raining down on a family of four sitting in the front. Following the Coke, a downpour of popcorn began to come down on the theater. Screams of terror rang out from the seats below, and some even began to assume the duck-and-cover position. While this death from above continued on in the theater, I watched in horror as one man standing in the corner removed his shirt and furiously swung it around like a madman. The ten seconds this lasted carried on for what felt like an hour. After all the chaos, many of the audience members, including myself, were left with what can only be described as a “thousand-yard stare.”

With all this chaos happening, this has to be the only time in movie history this has happened, right? This would, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on who you ask, not be the case. The 1975 movie Rocky Horror Picture Show has developed a whole subculture of its own, with fans showing up in costume and developing rituals to throw and yell things during each screening. Similarly, the infamously terrible movie The Room, released in 2003, has also seen people throwing plastic spoons at the screen during a particular scene and yelling out lines.

So while the overall experience was nothing short of chaotic, and the movie was dull, the buzz around this movie seemed to reignite the excitement that movie theaters once saw. It left every member of the audience I was a part of with a smile on their face and a memorable moviegoing experience… except that family of four in the front—shame on whoever threw that Coke.

Featured image courtesy of Warner Bros. Studios.