Theaters Are Hosting 'Rise Of Gru' Showings *Specifically* For Gentleminions To Have Fun

If you’ve been to the movie theater recently and found yourself confused about people dressed up in suits, you’re not alone. The Gentleminions trend started on TikTok when teenagers suited up in their best shirt and tie for showings of Minions: The Rise of Gru, the latest installment of the Despicable Me franchise. Now, movie theaters in the U.K. are hosting Gentleminions showings especially for the formal occasion.

The Rise of Gru premiered on July 1, and Gen-Z fans have been showing the movie a lot of love, since they’ve grown up with the franchise that debuted in 2010 and the Minions movie that came out in 2015. However, it’s reported that not all the Gentleminions have been conducting themselves in a gentlemen-ly manner. Reports of unruly behavior and messes of food, particularly banana peels, have led some cinemas to impose bans on “groups of guests in formal attire,” according to a photo of an Odeon Cinemas sign in a July 3 tweet. The Gentleminion has received mixed reactions on social media, with Universal Pictures and Minions official accounts sharing tweets supporting the #Gentleminions movement — and some movie theater employees not loving it so much.

You’ll be glad to hear that theaters have finally come up with a win-win solution: Gentleminions showings of The Rise of Gru where you are encouraged to wear suits. Vue Cinemas in the U.K. and Ireland was one of the first to add the special showings to its website. They are inviting movie-goers “minion or human” to “suit up” and “enjoy the full experience of being a Gentleminion” while being “Gentleminionly,” of course. Vue stated that “everyone is welcome, whether you’re 14 or 44,” but added as a fair warning that “sessions may include crowd participation and general, obvious levels of enjoyment” alluding to the cheering and clapping that can be seen from TikTok videos of the trend.

Even Odeon cinemas, which initially put up signs in theaters refusing entry to Gentleminion groups, have now embraced the TikTok trend, according to a July 8 tweet from the company. The theater’s showing is calling for “GentleMinions of the world (and TikTok)” to “go bananas … suited up, or dressed down.” Odeon also emphasizes that “audience participation is 100% guaranteed” but reminded GentleMinions to “respect the enjoyment of all your fellow Gentleminions,” which totally seems fair.

The trend has been going strong since June 28, when TikToker Bill Hirst shared a video of himself and his friends going to Rise Of Gru, looking dapper and ready for a show. He told Variety on July 5 that he and his friends “wanted to do it just for fun,” and they “chucked on [their] suits and went straight to the cinemas.” Since then, it seemed the fun was starting to fade due to the disturbances, but with these Gentleminion specific showings, I think the trend will continue to live on.

Hopefully, this means that peace is restored in the Gentleminions world. Although Odeon is owned by cinema giant AMC Theatres, no AMC locations in the United States have announced Gentleminions showings as of publication on July 8.