‘Gentleminions’ TikTok trend is taking over the world – including in Spokane?

The scene is unfolding at movie theaters across the country: teens dressed in suits and ties crowding into the latest Minions movie.

These gentlemen are part of the “gentleminions” trend on TikTok that has collected 9.1 billion views.

The release of “Minions: The Rise of Gru” has unleashed the #gentleminions trend that includes teens who made 300,000 videos.

Teens arrive to watch the movie in groups, dressed in suits and ties, sometimes with bananas in their back pockets. Videos from across the world show them cheering, starting mosh-pits and getting shut down by the police.

“The point of going to the theater is to have fun and enjoy the movie; we don’t mean to be disruptive, we just waited five years for this movie to release,’’ said 16-year-old Matthew Herzog, a Mt. Spokane High School student.

Herzog and some of his friends went to the movie at Village Center Cinemas in North Spokane wearing suits and ties. They acknowledge some cheering and general rowdiness, but not enough to draw admonishment from the theater, much less the police.

That hasn’t been the case for other movie theaters, however.

The trend has caused many movie theaters to ban people from wearing suits and ties, according to cinemas.

“I believe the idea of banning someone just because of … enjoying a movie is ridiculous,” Herzog said.

The movie, which was delayed for two years because of COVID-19, is part of the Despicable Me franchise. The storyline follows a young Gru, wanting to be the most evil person in the world. After stealing a precious gem from a group of villains, Gru and his minions make a plan to escape with the jewel.

The buzz on this movie has led to sellouts at theaters across the nation. “Minions: The Rise of Gru” crushed box office records, generating $150 million over three days, setting a record for a Fourth of July release.

The film’s producer, Universal Pictures, responded to the suit-and-tie trend on Twitter: “To everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you.”

Although the movie is breaking records in the box office, critics are calling it mediocre.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie is 73% fresh, with one critic saying, “The series has long since given up finding new avenues to explore, relying instead of regurgitating ideas and comedic bits.”

Although critics are not necessarily fans, with a 90% fresh audience ranking on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences evidently are .