Here’s Why The Success Of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Will Ruin Movies Forever 

Crying babies. Preteens reigning over vomit-strewn wastelands. The absence of the rule of law. Is this Lord of the Flies? No, it’s a theater in Wasilla, Alaska during a showing of A Minecraft Movie.

Thanks to a global TikTok trend that encourages theatergoers to unleash havoc during one scene, young gamers have been throwing popcorn and even starting fights during showings across the world. In many cases, police have gotten involved. And yet, the movie has been Hollywood’s first resounding success of 2025, despite lacking any compelling story. Once other studios realize that this was because of the movie’s virality alone, they may double down on Minecraft’s marketing strategy, leading to a cinematic future that is dark and full of TikTok trends.

Considering Minecraft’s unexpected global box office haul of $300 million in its first weekend, you might assume the movie is good. That’s not the case. While preteen gamers would beg to differ, most critics and adults have left Minecraft screenings disappointed.  The movie has a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. But studio heads don’t really care about quality at the end of day. They care about Benjamins. They care about their next superyacht. They care about their continued ability to Indecent Proposal whenever they feel like it. This is why other studios, who’ve had difficulties at the box office this year, will look to Minecraft for inspiration. That’s where the existential problems arise.

In the case of Minecraft, the movie has worked largely because of a fan service moment in its trailer that went viral on TikTok – a platform that Minecraft’s marketing team leveraged heavily while promoting the film. In the viral and now infamous “Chicken Jockey” scene, a baby zombie rides a chicken into battle against Jason Momoa. Explaining this further would be pointless. But the moment was so recognizable on social media that when the movie landed in theaters, young Minecraft fans were primed to demonstrate their familiarity with the viral scene. That’s why, shortly after Minecraft premiered, TikTok videos surfaced of movie theaters erupting in cheers and dances as soon as this scene came on screen. In this way, the trend – and an unquenchable desire for social media capital – has encouraged viewers to be on their phones during screenings.

However, it has also apparently encouraged acts of vandalism. At the aforementioned Wasilla showing, a gang of teenagers reportedly body-slammed an employee, leading to their ejection from the theater. Throughout the U.S. and the U.K., unaccompanied minors have thrown toast and water at the screen during showings to try and go viral. In New Jersey, one theater has implemented a strict new policy banning unaccompanied minors from Minecraft screenings.

Honestly, this kind of rowdiness isn’t much of a problem. Preteens gonna preteen, and no one wants to be the Fun Police. Plus, it’s great that the movie is encouraging audience participation. The best moviegoing experiences are always when audiences are vocal, oohing and awing and laughing and shouting at the screen. After all, if moviegoing ever stops feeling interactive, or at least communal, then it will be hard to justify shelling out so much money to engage in it.

The issue here, rather, is that studios will begin doubling down on movies like Minecraft that sacrifice storytelling for memeable moments. Just like with Hollywood’s last major success, Deadpool and Wolverine, Minecraft contains a pastiche of entertaining moments rather than a fresh and engrossing overarching story. It’s tailor-made for distracted audiences who are attached to their phones, waiting to record a potentially viral moment and upload it onto social media during their screening. Endorphin-inducing highs are delivered fast and loose through easy jokes, pop culture references and fan service moments. There’s no such thing as a slow burn or a satisfying emotional payoff. Perhaps most damningly, you can zone out without missing anything. And now we can expect more of that.

If more movies are greenlit based on their ability to create viral moments in theaters, then what can we expect going forward? Are theaters going to become more fun and interactive? Or are they just going to become hellscapes of people checking Instagram during showings and filming themselves reacting to scenes for their 332 followers? More pressingly, will such shifts even save movies? Or will people get tired of paying $35 per ticket to see the latest spinoff-remake and throw toast at a screen for two hours? The future of moviemaking is looking dire – and all because of an angry baby zombie on a chicken.