Warner Bros Pictures has announced new ‘Block Party’ screenings of A Minecraft Movie, in which attendees are actively encouraged to shout and sing at the screen.
A Minecraft Movie: Block Party Edition will take place across North America and in select international markets on May 2, and will allow fans to call out during the film’s songs and memes.
“Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures invite fans back to the theater to experience A Minecraft Movie together in a whole new way,” the studio said in a statement.
“You know the moments. You know the lines. You love the songs! Now it’s time to get loose, laugh out loud and belt out those lyrics like a true diamond-tier fan.”
The event is an apparent reaction to the controversy surrounding the behaviour of numerous cinemagoers who have been accused of rowdy behaviour during screenings of the film.
Schoolchildren have reportedly been throwing popcorn, food and drinks during screenings, and shouting out loud during certain moments, most notably the ‘chicken jockey’ moment, which has become a meme since its trailer was released.
The film’s director Jared Hess has seemingly been encouraging this behaviour, calling it “way too fun” and saying: “I’m just glad people are making memories with their friends and families.”
However, other cinemagoers have been complaining that they just want to watch the movie, and are unable to do so with the chaos going on around them. The BBC reported earlier this month that one cinema in Kent had to eject “one group of seven young people who were being particularly rowdy”.
The ‘Block Party’ screenings of A Minecraft Movie aren’t the first attempt to restrict raucous behaviour to specific dedicated screenings.
Earlier this month Cineworld held a ‘Chicken Jockey Screening’ of the film, where customers were “invited to dress up as their favourite Minecraft characters, whoop, yelp, clap, and shout Chicken Jockey”.
“There are some rules we don’t break,” the cinema warned attendees. “So here’s the deal: build excitement? Absolutely. LOL with friends till you’re rolling in the aisles? Totally. But please don’t go full Creeper in the auditorium. Remember to leave the cinema looking like a well-built base, not like it got griefed by a bunch of Endermen. No mess please, just good clean fun.”
Deadline reports that A Minecraft Movie has now reached $816.6 million global box office after four weekends. While the film had a stronger opening weekend than The Super Mario Bros Movie, it appears to have dropped off quicker, meaning it has some way to go to beat its total worldwide gross of $1.360 billion.
