Why Minecraft Movie Fans Are Getting Rowdy and Going Viral

Source: @AMinecraftMovie on X

As someone who grew up traveling into the city with friends every weekend to see the midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the uproar over the fan response to a new movie brings back some fond memories. In the 1970s, Rocky Horror was a cult hit, inspiring a passionate fanbase. The film’s intentionally campy vibe and songs that invited singing along, in addition to a cast of characters who resonated with every teenager who felt like they didn’t fit in, made those midnight viewings my first experience of a participatory fandom. We didn’t just watch the movie, we became part of it. People dressed up as their favorite characters and danced in the aisles (to the "Time Warp," of course).

We talked back to the characters onscreen, the entire theater in unison. We brought props – newspapers to hold over our heads when it rained onscreen, spray bottles to bring some droplets into real life and slices of bread to toss for the “toast”. It felt like harmless fun, and for me and my adolescent friends, a way to playfully push back against societal norms dictating who we should be.

In typical adolescent egocentric fashion, we didn’t give much thought to the theater owners and staff who had to mop up the water and throw away soggy bread and newspapers. The fact that this went on for decades (and still does in some theaters even today) suggests that a cost benefit analysis favors the benefit – there was a sell out crowd every midnight for Rocky Horror back in the day.

The Rise of Chicken Jockey

Fast forward to 2025 and the release of another movie with a passionate fandom of young people: A Minecraft Movie. I can attest to Minecraft’s popularity with young people, so the film’s success isn’t surprising. What was surprising, at least to theater owners, was the way that audience members have decided to make this a participatory film too, in the tradition of Rocky Horror for their parents and grandparents. Minecraft fans are expressing their excitement at pivotal moments that call back to the game, like yelling “Chicken jockey!” when a baby zombie appears riding a chicken. There’s been lots of cheering and yelling, but also lots of tossing whole buckets of popcorn into the air to rain down on fellow audience members.

There was no social media in the 1970s – the participatory traditions spread organically for Rocky Horror, with fans adding to their repertoire little by little over the course of a decade. Now social media is amplifying A Minecraft Movie within days, with a TikTok trend encouraging fans to one up each other with more disruption (and more popcorn). Fans who filmed the chaos have gone viral on TikTok, encouraging other fans to do even more.

Now that I’m not a teenager out there dancing in the aisles, I keep thinking about the poor theater staff who have to clean all that up.

Theaters are thinking the same thing. Warner Bros. is over the moon about the film’s success, but many cinema chains have posted notices warning that any behavior that disturbs other guests or is disruptive will not be tolerated, even threatening to remove patrons without a refund. There have been instances of police being called, with law enforcement arriving to restore order when fans didn’t stick to those rules.

What’s behind the unrestrained display of fan excitement? It helps to understand fandom.

Fandom Is All About Community and Belonging

This is not, for the most part, young people being intentionally disruptive for the sake of making more work for theater staff. Minecraft is a passion that many young people have in common. One of the hallmarks of being a fan is the desire to share what you love with someone else who loves it too – to find a community of fans to which you can belong. Often that happens online, where the Minecraft game took off and became popular. A Minecraft Movie offers fans an opportunity to come together in the same physical space instead of online, to celebrate their love of the game, just as a football game or a rock concert or a Comic Con convention brings fans together face to face.

The sense of community and belongingness that is created by that experience is beneficial for self-esteem and a positive sense of self, something adolescents and pre-adolescents are working on developmentally. It’s no coincidence that the elements of the film that cause the biggest reaction are things that are familiar from the game – shouting and cheering at those moments is a way of signaling to the other fans around you “I’m a fan of this game, I know about this, I’m a member of this group.” It’s also likely no coincidence that the movie is jam packed with self-referential humorous lines like ‘chicken jockey’ or ‘I am Steve’ that fans recognize and celebrate together. There are references to popular Twitch streamers and YouTubers and even a reference to a 2022 viral Minecraft meme about children yearning for the mines – recognizing those lines demonstrates insider knowledge that is valuable currency for fans wanting to be part of the in-group.

Sparking Joy With Parasocial Relationships and Emotional Contagion

The movie’s depiction of the familiar fictional characters from the game is also an emotional experience for fans. We develop “parasocial relationships” with fictional characters who we see on a daily basis, whether they’re real people or boxy animated characters. While those relationships are not reciprocal for obvious reasons, they are attachment relationships, so being in close proximity to those characters feels good and can enhance well being and quality of life. Young people who have been playing Minecraft for years can now ‘see’ their favorite characters on the big screen, which is both exciting and satisfying.

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The other psychological mechanism likely at play in A Minecraft Movie audiences is a phenomenon often seen in live concerts and live sports competitions. When fans gather together to celebrate something they’re passionate about, it’s inevitably an emotional experience. Being with “your people” and also with the performers or characters you love creates positive emotions and genuine joy – fans have described concerts with their favorite performers as feeling like a religious rapture. Since our brains’ mirror neurons unconsciously mirror the emotions of people around us, a movie theater packed with ecstatic fans creates a feedback loop that amplifies the joy and the excitement, a phenomenon known as emotional contagion. When emotions are that intense, fans can lose control and behave in ways they usually wouldn’t, needing an outlet to express those strong feelings. (Fans of performers from the Beatles to BTS have been called ‘hysterical’ as a result).

Celebrating With a Little Less Egocentrism

The exuberant reactions of fans to the movie shouldn’t be surprising and are, for the most part, an expression of positive feelings that can provide a sense of belonging and a self esteem boost. However, if you’re planning to attend and armed with a bucket of popcorn – or if you’re sending a young person off to the theater – it can be helpful to keep in mind that other people will be impacted by the ways in which you choose to celebrate. That fact often gets lost in the face of adolescent egocentrism, or as emotional contagion takes hold. Having a chance to think about the consequences for others before we’re “in the moment” can keep the chaos to a manageable level that can still be fun.

Unlike my oblivious teenage Rocky Horror days, I still worry about the theater staff tasked with sweeping up all that popcorn. Hopefully it isn’t buttered.