The director of A Minecraft Movie has been criticised by fans for seemingly encouraging the absolute chaos cinemas are facing during screenings.
Jared Hess shared his surprising take on the madness unfolding in cinema screenings of his latest film, where audience participation and reactions have been pushed to the extreme.
A number of cinemas have issued statements slamming audiences of A Minecraft Movie for ‘erupting into sheer pandemonium’ during the box office hit, with cinemagoers sharing footage of wild audience reactions from inside cinemas on social media.
In several instances, the police have even allegedly been called.
One moment in particular has seen fans screaming, cheering and even climbing on their friends’ shoulders in a clip that’s gone viral online.
Hess isn’t sharing the concerns of the cinemas – he’s finding the whole thing delightful.
‘It’s been so bananas,’ Hess told Entertainment Weekly.
‘It’s been way too fun. People are sending me these really hilarious speeches that a lot of teenagers are giving right before the movie. It’s so hysterical, man. I’m staying up way too late.’
The film, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, has enjoyed one of the biggest-grossing weekends of 2025 so far.
Hess continued to EW: ‘It’s weird when you’re having too much fun and the cops get called. It’s funny because I think it’s just literally cheering and throwing popcorn, which is so funny to me that cops are getting called for popcorn. Yeah, it’s hilarious. I’ve seen so many funny videos. It’s great, especially when people are climbing on their friends’ shoulders and standing up and cheering for those moments.
‘It’s like this crazy anticipation. But, man, I’m just glad people are making memories with their friends and families.’
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However, his attitude has hit a nerve with many cinemagoers when it was discussed on a Reddit thread.
‘Well… lost a bit of respect for him then. Cheering at a theatre is one thing. You’re all fans, it’s a happy place for all of you. But jumping on each other’s shoulders, throwing popcorn around, doing stunts in front of the screen…come on… that’s just childish and disrespectful on a whole other level,’ posted Fuzzyfoot88.
‘I feel so bad for the movie theatre workers but the studio is LOVING this mayhem and they can’t WAIT to green light Minecraft 2 JUST in hopes of getting more free promo,’ suggested relientkenny.
‘Terrible response. That kind of behaviour has no place in the theatre. It ruins the experience for other people and makes life miserable for the employees,’ complained TheNameIsFrags, while aimlessdrivel suggested: ‘Theatres should charge more for deliberately rowdy showings and pay employees extra to handle cleaning.’
‘People are making memories… at other people’s expense,’ pointed out eiridan, while GodzillaUK echoed many people’s responses to Hess’s remarks by insisting: ‘Then by all means, give him a broom and let him clean it up. At every location.’
Others drew comparisons to other films that have historically prompted big reactions in cinemas.
‘Someone described it as this generations version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ wrote LayeredOwlsnest. ‘And I kinda get it honestly, the external memes and audience participation are part of the movie at this point.
‘But the mess is really unacceptable.’
In A Minecraft Movie, four friends – Garrett ‘The Garbage Man’ Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) – are struggling to fit in when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld, the land of the popular videogame.
The sequence that is causing problems for cinema staff involves Black and Momoa confronting a cuboid Minecraft chicken being ridden by another character that looks like a baby Frankenstein.
‘Chicken jockey!’ yells Black, in a moment that saw one theatre full of fans start screaming, throwing popcorn, turning on their torches, leaping to their feet and shouting.
‘My theatre clapped every time Jack Black name dropped a Minecraft item that was in the trailers, and when he said Chicken Jockey I s**t you not the entire row in front of me gave a standing ovation,’ shared cinemagoer @Schaffrillas on X.
‘When Jack Black said “Chicken Jockey,” the theatre erupted into sheer pandemonium. Kids were cheering, clapping and jumping onto the tops of seats. Whenever Jack Black sang, the kids would get up and start dancing in the aisles.
‘I was here and I couldn’t hear anything throughout the movie. Very disappointed in the Minecraft community,’ added LuCha in a reaction to footage of one these incidents on TikTok.
Metro has contacted reps for Jared Hess for comment.
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