An Atlanta movie theater turned chaotic over the weekend as teens hurled popcorn, ICEE drinks and condiments at the screen during a screening of “A Minecraft Movie.”
Kids on TikTok have been partaking in what has been dubbed the “Chicken Jockey Challenge” which involves throwing items during a scene near the end of the movie when a baby zombie falls onto the back of a chicken. In the Minecraft video game, a “chicken jockey” is a rare situation and hard-core fans have typically reacted with joyful hoots and hollers during the movie.
Brandt Gully, owner of The Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had posted employees in the theater as a precaution and had signage up warning people not to throw food and drink.
“Unfortunately, it was a couple of teenage employees up against 120 kids,” Gully said. “Once it happened, we called the cops. It was not because of the mess but because it was dangerous. We had families in there.”
Nobody was arrested. By the time the police arrived, the kids had scattered, most leaving through a fire exit door, he said.
The theater posted video of the aftermath on its Instagram page to the tune of the Inner Circle song “Bad Boys,” known also as the theme to the Fox Nation show “Cops.”
“Please don’t ruin our theater and the movie experience for other guests just for imaginary internet points,” the theater wrote. “Real employees have to clean up this nonsense. Enjoy Minecraft, but not like this.”
“The Minecraft Movie” has been the first massive box office hit of 2025, generating more than $279 million in domestic revenue in its first 10 days.
Gully said he had heard scattered reports of such incidents from other theater operators during the first week of the movie’s release. People magazine reported police being called at another unspecified theater.
Jack Black, the primary star of the film, showed up at a screening over the weekend and gave attendees this warning: “For today’s presentation of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ please no throwing popped corn, and also no lapis lazuli (a Minecraft mineral) … and absolutely no chicken jockeys!”
Gully said until Friday, his theater’s “Minecraft” screenings had been relatively tame: “I thought maybe we were just sparred. Maybe our crowd was different. But then it all fell apart.”
The 8 p.m. screening last Friday at Springs was packed with middle and high school boys, he said. A few families with kids were there as well. For several seconds during the “Chicken Jockey” scene, the theater evoked the cafeteria food fight scene in “National Lampoon’s Animal House.”
Although there was no permanent damage, it took Springs employees more than three hours to clean up the mess including splattered salsa and ketchup and resulted in Springs canceling the subsequent screening scheduled for that theater.
Gully said he ultimately gave refunds to families who requested them.
“One of the bigger issues is that it alters the experience for those who are acting responsibly,” said Gully, who has owned the theater since 2017. “It also keeps people from wanting to see the movie. They’re scared. We’ve had a number of calls and emails asking if it was safe to come.”
Ultimately, he added, “It’s a fun movie. We want people to enjoy it but they have to do it the right way.”
Credit: Brandt Gully, owner of Sandy Springs Cinema and Taphouse
Credit: Brandt Gully, owner of Sandy Springs Cinema and Taphouse
Cinema United — a trade organization representing movie theaters — issued a memo last week with voluntary guidelines, including preshow announcements and signage.
Gully said he followed those guidelines, but employees are now verbally telling patrons when they purchase popcorn and drinks that unruly behavior could result in them being kicked out or authorities being called. People seeing “Minecraft” are again given warnings at the host stand before they enter the theater.
“We now have timers on our phones for the ‘Chicken Jockey’ scene and send employees to stand in front of the screen,” Gully said.
Spokespersons for AMC and Regal have not responded to queries regarding specific issues at their theaters.
Gully said his theater, which has eight screens, is doing well this year. He is hopeful that the slate of upcoming films will keep patrons coming, including the newest installment of the “Mission Impossible” franchise, live-action versions of “Lilo & Stitch” and “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Karate Kid: Legends” and Marvel’s “Thunderbolts,” which was shot in metro Atlanta.
The Springs Cinema & Taphouse was the 19th most popular theater in metro Atlanta last year, generating $3.6 million in revenue. according to data collected by Comscore. It was one of only three theaters with fewer than 10 screens in the top 20.
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