Heber City Councilmember Aaron Cheatwood reported on social media Saturday, April 12, that the evening’s screening of “Minecraft” had descended into chaos.
“So much popcorn thrown, sodas thrown on people and seats, candy everywhere, shirtless kids, people on shoulders chicken fighting in front of the screen, lacrosse ball was thrown at the screen and dented it,” he wrote. “There is no way there is not hundreds of dollars of damage to the theater.”
The unruly behavior is part of a larger national trend of moviegoers shouting lines in the theater and jumping on the viral “chicken jockey” TikTok trend, throwing popcorn and climbing on each other’s shoulders.
Heber locals, however, were not amused, commenting they were “appalled” by the mayhem.
“Good Lord!” one person wrote. “These kids need help.”
KPCW reached out to Heber Valley Entertainment, which owns the theater, and did not hear back Monday.
However, the theater commented on social media it stopped the movie when things got out of hand and said some teens stayed behind to help clean up the mess.
It also said kids will need an adult with them to attend any remaining showings.
Meanwhile, Utah filmmaker Jared Hess, the film’s director, told Entertainment Weekly he loves seeing the reaction videos.
“It’s weird when you’re having too much fun and the cops get called,” the “Napoleon Dynamite” creator said. “But man, I’m just glad people are making memories with their friends and families.”
Heber police told KPCW they hadn’t received any reports related to the weekend’s movie misbehavior.
“Minecraft” is the top-grossing box office movie so far this year, bringing in around $280 million since its release April 4.
