A film banned from cinemas thanks to memes rises to the top of Netflix

Ah, 2022. The year Will Smith torched his airtight reputation in a matter of seconds by slapping Chris Rock, Taylor Swift created her own multiverse of madness, and groups of teens wearing suits were banned from cinemas for causing a ruckus during screenings of Minions: The Rise of Gru. 

Well, it appears that the children’s film is back with a vengeance, with ‘GentleMinions’ suiting up and plonking themselves on the couch to cheer, applaud, and disrupt nobody, except perhaps their neighbors and parents. 

The sequel to the Minions spinoff and the fifth film in the Despicable Me franchise has snagged itself the number three spot in the top ten most popular films on Netflix this week, with You People and Pamela, A Love Story securing the number one and two spots.

In case you forgot about this fiasco, screenings of Minions: The Rise of Gru were infamously banned from a number of cinemas due to repeated instances of disruptive behavior and vandalism by large groups of teenagers attending cinemas dressed in suits and equipped with bananas thanks to a TikTok trend. 

While the vandalism was perhaps a step too far, even the film’s distributor, Universal Pictures was validating and enabling attending screenings while dressed to the nines:

While Minions: The Rise of Gru certainly had a raucous reception from the generation which grew up on Despicable Me films, it currently sits at a 70 percent rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences, of course, scored it a good deal higher, with a 89 percent rating at the time of writing.

So consider this a PSA – pay a visit to the produce section of your local grocery store, suit up, and park up on the couch – Minions: The Rise of Gru is now streaming on Netflix. See you back here this time next week when the film clinches the number one spot?