Minecraft mania: how millions of rowdy kids saved the box office
Video game adaptation broke records over the weekend as reports pour in about chaotic screenings and TikTok trendsMinecraft has jumped from game consoles to movie screens, and theaters across the country are shaking with perhaps the most vocal fan participation this side of an Avengers finale. As the film broke box office records, reports (and phone-shot videos) have been pouring in across the internet of the game-based fantasy-comedy inciting near-riots of applause, cheersand popcorn-chucking as the youthful target audience expresses their gratitude for references to the source material’s characters, memes and attendant lore – particularly the Chicken Jockey, a visual reference to a relatively rare but well-known phenomenon within the game. If you don’t know any more than this, there’s no real need to investigate further; the answer doesn’t matter. Even for someone actively watching A Minecraft Movie, it has absolutely no bearing on the actual story or characters at hand.The reactions have become a TikTok trend unto themselves, with viewers making sure to record the screen in readiness for the audience bedlam that ensues (curiously, it happens when Jack Black says “Chicken Jockey”, not when the character actually first appears). Essentially, the kids are watching themselves watch the movie, not unlike how they might watch a stream of someone else playing the game and screaming along in real time. Some adults are amused by the chaos; others have attempted to decode how much of it is genuine enthusiasm and how much is half-ironic insta-nostalgia (yes, Minecraft has been around long enough to inspire nostalgia). Still others have simply panicked and called the cops; as seen in the video that helped establish the trend, officers apparently escorted the rowdiest kids out of one showing. Continue reading...
Video game adaptation broke records over the weekend as reports pour in about chaotic screenings and TikTok trends
Minecraft has jumped from game consoles to movie screens, and theaters across the country are shaking with perhaps the most vocal fan participation this side of an Avengers finale. As the film broke box office records, reports (and phone-shot videos) have been pouring in across the internet of the game-based fantasy-comedy inciting near-riots of applause, cheersand popcorn-chucking as the youthful target audience expresses their gratitude for references to the source material’s characters, memes and attendant lore – particularly the Chicken Jockey, a visual reference to a relatively rare but well-known phenomenon within the game. If you don’t know any more than this, there’s no real need to investigate further; the answer doesn’t matter. Even for someone actively watching A Minecraft Movie, it has absolutely no bearing on the actual story or characters at hand.
The reactions have become a TikTok trend unto themselves, with viewers making sure to record the screen in readiness for the audience bedlam that ensues (curiously, it happens when Jack Black says “Chicken Jockey”, not when the character actually first appears). Essentially, the kids are watching themselves watch the movie, not unlike how they might watch a stream of someone else playing the game and screaming along in real time. Some adults are amused by the chaos; others have attempted to decode how much of it is genuine enthusiasm and how much is half-ironic insta-nostalgia (yes, Minecraft has been around long enough to inspire nostalgia). Still others have simply panicked and called the cops; as seen in the video that helped establish the trend, officers apparently escorted the rowdiest kids out of one showing. Continue reading...
