A Minecraft Movie took over the global box office this weekend, but looking beyond the success of the blockbuster directed by Jared Hess, the Minecraft adaptation created a new pop-culture phenomenon, thanks to one of its more bizarre sequences. At one point in the movie, Steve (Jack Black) and Garrett (Jason Momoa) find themselves fighting against the monsters from the video game world where the main plot takes place. A major surprise for Minecraft fans was when one of the trailers for the movie revealed that Garrett would fight against a Chicken Jockey. A zombified character from the film then falls on top of a chicken, creating the popular meme.
Videos by ComicBook.com
While that looks like a nice reference to the video game A Minecraft Movie is based on, it went beyond what anyone could’ve imagined. The adventure that followed a young man as he tried to adapt to his new life with his older sister ended up inspiring a social media trend that has affected movie theaters from all over the world. Is the Chicken Jockey social media trend actually beneficial for anyone involved? Let’s take a look at the Minecraft madness, and if it’s actually good or bad for audiences, movie theater employees, and fans of the video game itself.
What Is the Minecraft Chicken Jockey Trend?
Videos showing audiences reacting to the Chicken Jockey sequence from A Minecraft Movie have flooded social media. In this explosive trend, in the moment when the character is introduced on the big screen, audiences throw around their popcorn and whatever they’re holding while screaming. Tons of popcorn, soda, and even actual chickens have been seen flying through the air in the videos that show viewers going wild for the zombified character who gets to ride a chicken into battle. The excitement of the premise from A Minecraft Movie can’t compare to the thrill of seeing the Chicken Jockey make the jump from the game to cinemas.
It also appears that the youngest members of the audiences are the ones going bananas for the Chicken Jockey’s role in A Minecraft Movie. Just like when Five Nights at Freddy’s premiered on the big screen a couple of years ago, Gen-Z moviegoers proved once again that they’re willing to make the trip to the theater for this video game adaptations, while The Super Mario Bros. movie also became a box office success in 2023. Combine a young audience with a popular social media trend, and the result is a bunch of children and teenagers throwing popcorn, soda, and anything they can smuggle into the theater through the air.
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Even the director behind A Minecraft Movie has shared his reaction when it comes to the social media trend that took over the planet alongside the movie, as Jared Hess has shown his excitement regarding how the public is engaging with the project, produced by Warner Bros. This also isn’t the first time a movie aimed at the youngest members of the audience inspired a popular trend that changed the way audiences interacted with the film itself. Back when Despicable Me 4 marked the return of Gru (Steve Carell), many videos circulated on the internet showing teenagers dressing formally for the occasion. Forget the etiquette expected out of a high school prom; obviously, the return of the Minions was a more important occasion.
Is the Chicken Jockey Trend a Good Thing?
Despite the Chicken Jockey social media trend demonstrating that audiences can’t get enough of A Minecraft Movie, it isn’t necessarily positive for everyone involved. Multiple screenings around the world have been stopped due to the chaos that ensued by the movie’s action sequence. Some establishments have even gone as far as to print disclaimers in the lobby, asking the youngest members of the audience to behave themselves while enjoying A Minecraft Movie. What might look engaging on social media doesn’t reflect the consequences that the Chicken Jockey trend bring in real life.
While A Minecraft Movie becomes a hit at the worldwide box office, movie theater employees from all over the world have been stuck with a path of destruction left behind by people trying to earn likes on their social media profile. Unimaginable amounts of wasted popcorn scattered across the floor, sticky soda making it uncomfortable to walk around the auditoriums, and more aren’t the only real-life effect the Chicken Jockey trend is leaving behind. That’s not even taking into account how unsanitary it is to bring a live chicken to a movie theater. How does that even make it past the lobby?
Young audiences finding new reasons to go to the movie theater will always be a good thing, but causing unnecessary problems for movie theater employees might not have been what Warner Bros. had envisioned when launching A Minecraft Movie. A couple of viral videos are not worth extra hours of work for people who weren’t even involved with the affair. The only good thing that could come out of the Chicken Jockey trend is if it dies down after the movie’s first week of release. The disaster moving past the first few screenings of A Minecraft Movie won’t benefit anyone, and the people who had fun with it have already seen it, so the movie doesn’t present anything new.
