New Jersey Movie Theater Bans Unaccompanied Kids from ‘Minecraft’ Screenings ArticlePure

• A New Jersey movie theater announced that it is banning unaccompanied minors from screenings of A Minecraft Movie
• A Minecraft Movie has spawned a number of viral videos featuring audience members cheering loudly when Jack Black’s character says the phrase “chicken jockey”
• Viral videos featuring audiences cheering for the “chicken jockey” are reportedly leading to excessive and disruptive reactions from young viewers

Jack Black and Jason Momoa’s A Minecraft Movie is making news at the box office — and apparently creating operational headaches for some movie theater owners.

On Sunday, April 6, the New Jersey-based Township Theatre shared a statement to Facebook declaring minors attending screenings of A Minecraft Movie moving forward would need to be “accompanied by a parent or responsible adult” after what it described as “an unfortunate situation” that occurred during a screening on Saturday, April 5.

“A large group of unsupervised boys — believed to be from Waldwick — engaged in completely unacceptable behavior, including vandalism,” the theater wrote on its Facebook page. “We also received multiple complaints from other moviegoers who were trying to enjoy the film with their families. Video footage of the incident has been obtained.”

As a result of the apparent Saturday incident, the theater explicitly wrote that “unaccompanied groups of boys will not be admitted” to future screenings of A Minecraft Movie, which dominated theaters and made nearly $163 million at the domestic box office during its first weekend in theaters.

“If your son was at Township Theatre last night, we strongly encourage you to have a conversation with him about his behavior,” the New Jersey theater chain added in its announcement. “Thank you for helping us maintain a safe, respectful, and enjoyable environment for all of our guests.”

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In the days since A Minecraft Movie released on Friday, April 4, videos of audience members cheering and loudly celebrating a viral moment from the movie in which Black’s character says the phrase “chicken jockey” have gone viral.

Some theater chains have warned audiences against “making excessive noise” in order to participate in the “chicken jockey” trend during A Minecraft Movie screenings. A number of videos went viral from screenings over the weekend showing audience members jumping toward the screen, standing up, cheering and yelling during the moment, in which Black and Momoa’s characters find themselves forced to fight the “chicken jockey” character — one of Minecraft‘s “creeper characters” riding a chicken — while in a boxing ring. 

A Minecraft Movie, which is based on the popular video game of the same name, stars Black, Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Eugene Hansen and Jennifer Coolidge, among others.