A Minecraft Movie director defends cinema screening chaos: "No one's going to get hurt from popcorn"
Director Jared Hess says watching fans' videos has been "a total blast"

Screenings of A Minecraft Movie are only getting more chaotic as time goes on, with many cinemas now putting sanctions on unruly moviegoers. Director Jared Hess, however, doesn't think there’s anything wrong with fans' behaviour.
"It's way too funny. It's been a total blast. I'm just laughing my brains out every time someone sends me a new video," said Hess to The New York Times. "Just the fact that people are making memories at the movies - that's what it's all about. That's why we do it. I never could have anticipated this level of passion and fun and craziness that's happening."
It has become a bit of a social media trend now to attend A Minecraft Movie in theaters and post videos of the chaos caused. When certain A Minecraft Movie Easter eggs, references, and cameos or meme-able phrases such as ‘Chicken Jockey’ or ‘I am Steve’ pop up, fans will go crazy and start screaming and shouting. That’s not all, though, as fans go as far as to throw popcorn, drinks, toilet paper, and other items up in the air at certain points. One fan even brought in a live chicken to a screening.
The popcorn throwing doesn't seem to be an issue for Hess, though. "No one's going to get hurt from popcorn," added Hess. "Look, when I go to the movies with my kids, it’s like a popcorn massacre that happens and they're not throwing anything, but it ends up on the ground, regardless." We wonder how he feels about the live bird.
Some theaters are fighting back, though, with some turning the movie off and denying refunds if fans continue with unruly behaviour, and another even called the police on some attendees. One cinema in the UK has banned children from attending A Minecraft Movie screenings after 6:30pm unless an adult is accompanying them.
Despite the carnage, A Minecraft Movie has smashed everyone’s expectations, landing the biggest opening weekend for a video game adaptation ever, and it's quickly becoming one of the best video game movies. Based on Mojang Studios’ Minecraft game, the movie follows four regular world humans (Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen) as they get pulled into a strange cubic world where their only hope of survival falls down to eccentric in-game character Steve (Jack Black).
A Minecraft Movie is out now. For more on the movie, check out our A Minecraft Movie review or read our guide on A Minecraft Movie ending explained.
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I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.
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