Playing chicken: cinemas get ruffled by rowdiness in Minecraft aisles

As if mobile phones aren't wreaking enough havoc at multiplexes already, cinemas are threatening to eject audience members from screenings of the hit Minecraft movie as a TikTok trend causes upheaval at showings.

- Dan Milmo Andrew Pulver Mimi Ibrahim

Footage has emerged on social media of audiences cheering, throwing popcorn and shouting out during the film, particularly during a scene where one of the stars, Jack Black, calls out "Chicken jockey!" at the appearance of a baby zombie riding a chicken.

The "chicken jockey" trend has gone viral on TikTok and has resulted in a number of cinemas across the globe taking measures to deal with disruptive behaviour at showings of the video game adaptation.

A number of cinemas in the UK, including Cineworld in Witney, the Radway in Sidmouth and the Reel cinemas in Fareham and Rochdale, have posted notices warning audience members against disrupting screenings of A Minecraft Movie, while the Regent Cinema in Newtown, Wales, said it would adopt a "zero-tolerance approach" of stopping screenings if audiences go too far.

One cinemagoer in Newtown told the Powys County Times: "Quite honestly I've seen monkeys at Chester Zoo behave more civilised than those at the 1.45pm showing on Saturday."