Warner Bros.A Minecraft Movie has become an instant phenomenon in its opening weekend, but cinemas have been forced to issue warnings to audiences – including one specifically about the “chicken jockey.”
Really, it was silly to doubt A Minecraft Movie. It is an adaptation of the best-selling video game of all time and it had a huge marketing push in the week before its release (between TikTok trends and its McDonald’s toys).
However, nobody predicted how massive it’d be in its first weekend. It’s already made over $300 million worldwide – for context, Inside Out opened with $295m, and it went on to gross nearly $1.7 billion. In other words, it looks like we have another billion-dollar blockbuster.
There’s just one problem: audiences are causing chaos in theaters, with police even forced to shut down one screening after dozens of viewers threw popcorn and soda in the air.
Theater’s “chicken jockey” warning confuses Minecraft fans
If you’ve yet to experience the pandemonium of A Minecraft Movie screening, here’s what’s been happening: during a scene with Jack Black’s Steve and Jason Momoa’s Garrett, a cuboid Minecraft chicken ridden by a baby zombie drops into a boxing ring.
It’s become a trend for audiences to not only scream “chicken jockey!” when Steve says it, but also trash their screen with whatever snacks are at their disposal.
As shared on X/Twitter and Reddit, one theater has addressed the “chicken jockey” mania directly (it’s unclear which chain or where it’s located).
“We know the chicken jockey is epic – but… please don’t throw popcorn or soft drinks at the screen.”
Here’s where it gets confusing: it seems like the bottom text is supposed to read, “Chickens don’t like showers. Our staff don’t either.”
However, it looks like, “Chickens showers. Don’t like showers. Our staff don’t either.” You could also read it like, “Chickens showers. Our staff don’t like showers. Don’t either.”
Either way, it doesn’t make sense. “It was likely AI-generated I think, shower is used twice with smaller font, chicken jockey is weird,” one user speculated, while another joked: “I had a stroke reading the smaller line.”
Despite the confusion, it’s addressing a real issue. “This is actually becoming a huge problem. I went Friday night, and I’m not even joking when I say there were at least 10 times the whole audience cheered and clapped and said the lines in unison,” one user recalled from their screening.
“My friend who works for a theater said at the premiere night the police were called because 20 teens started clapping and cheering at chicken jockey and then continued to clap and cheer and shout ‘absolute cinema’ for the rest of the film. Crazy times we live in.”
Just remember: chickens showers.
Make sure you know where A Minecraft Movie will be streaming and how much it needs to make at the box office. You can also check out our breakdown of A Minecraft Movie’s ending and post-credits scenes and every YouTuber who makes a cameo.