Screenings of Minions: The Rise of Gru have been attended by so-called GentleMinions, raucous young men dressed in suits. Minions 2 is the fifth movie in the Despicable Me franchise, which shows no signs of slowing down in terms of audience appeal. The movie broke box office records for the July 4th weekend, grossing over $127 million domestically as families celebrated the holiday with a trip to the theater, they weren’t alone, however, as they were joined by these formally dressed GentleMinions.
Unsurprisingly, the GentleMinions trend originated on social media, and videos of the phenomenon have gone viral over the July 4th weekend. They depict young men arriving at theaters in their smartest suits to the tune of “Rich Minion” by Yeat, before raucously applauding the Illumination studios logo and Minions: The Rise of Gru‘s credits. The Minions are ubiquitous on social media, beloved by old and young alike, and deployed in memes by both sides of the culture war. The GentleMinions, a term coined by Minions‘ official TikTok account, is their latest contribution to social media and has delighted, irritated, and bewildered commentators and theater audiences in equal measure.
Such was the response to the GentleMinions meme over the July 4th weekend that UK theater chain Odeon reportedly refused entry to groups arriving in formal dress, citing disruptive incidents. While these incidents aren’t elaborated on in detail, the viral videos show groups of teenagers moshing in front of the screen during the movie, and also throwing bananas, in reference to the Minions’ snack of choice. While it’s mostly a harmless laugh to some, this more disruptive behavior is likely to upset families who have paid to enjoy Rise of Gru in cinemas and have no idea or interest in this bizarre new GentleMinion craze that has seemingly sprung up overnight. Here’s what viewers need to know about GentleMinions.
Why Kids Are Wearing Suits To See Minions: Rise Of Gru
The humor of teenagers turning up to screenings of Minions: Rise of Gru dressed in suits is based on the inherent ridiculousness of arriving at a kid’s film in formal wear. In some respects, it’s a satirical commentary on how infantilized cinema audiences have become via a mainstream diet of animation and superhero movies. But in reality, the young men in smart attire also reference Minions 2‘s young Gru, who is dressed in his signature dark suit throughout. Various GentleMinion TikTok videos show the besuited teenagers steepling their figures, much like Steve Carrell’s Despicable Me/Minions character. As well as a subconscious satirical joke and reference to the movie’s main character, the explanation for the suits originates in the culture of internet memes.
Where The Minions Trend GentleMinions Came From & Why It’s Happening
GentleMinions is a physical manifestation of the Tickets to X meme, which humorously flips audience stereotypes for particular movies and the Fernanfloo Dresses Up meme. That meme, which shows YouTuber Fernanfloo in casual and formal wear subverted the idea of dress codes. So for example, casual wear for a family funeral, a smart suit for a Minions movie. It was this subversive, slightly risque irony that led to conversations across social media about the comedy of arriving for a Minions movie in formal wear. The first video of the ironic phenomenon was posted on June 30th and inspired numerous similar attempts, which continue to be documented on social media.
Minions 2 is the latest blockbuster to become entwined with meme culture after Sony re-released Morbius in response to the comic “It’s Morbin’ Time” catchphrase meme. However, unlike Sony, Universal appears to be benefitting from the attention that the GentleMinions trend is drawing to Minions: The Rise of Gru. How much of an impact these young social media users have made on the movie’s box office will be difficult to ascertain, but it’s hard to deny that they’re one audience group that wasn’t factored into Universal’s initial projections.