Jack Black Asks the Children Not To Throw Popcorn During ‘A Minecraft Movie'

I want movie theaters to survive. They are wonderful, magical places that inspire dreams and create cherished memories. Yes, they can occasionally be ruined by s***ty people (more on that in a second) but that’s true about anywhere. When communal experiences in a packed theater are great, they outweigh all the bad moments. Still, they are expensive, and many people believe they can have just as good of an experience at home with a 65-inch Vizio (to each their own).

For theaters to survive an ever-changing media landscape they need to get butts in seats. So, I was pretty happy to see that A Minecraft Movie surpassed box office expectations. I won’t be seeing the film, but more people in theaters means more theaters stay open. I felt the same way when Taylor Swift’s concert movie dropped, even though I could hear it (and its audience) loudly singing along through the walls at the 42nd Street AMC. Noise disruption on that big a scale can be annoying, but that’s more the theater’s fault than the audience’s. presumably, everyone in those screenings is in on it. Wrecking the theater is another story.

The children are getting so hopped up on chicken jockeys and Steve that they’re throwing popcorn and water bottles. Some screenings for A Minecraft Movie have had audiences of kids and teenagers who take to going into goblin mode (I think?) during particular scenes. One, which includes a zombie on a chicken, causes the children to scream, throw popcorn, and make a mess in the theater. I saw one picture where someone had emptied the ice and liquid from their drink into one of the cup holders. All is left behind for the theater staff to clean.

It could be possible that these were isolated incidents that were blown out of proportion on TikTok (though I’d argue even one such incident is unacceptable). However, it has happened enough that it got back to the Director, Jared Hess, who said he is okay with it. That sucks. Luckily, one of the film’s stars, the national treasure known as Jack Black, recently made an appearance in front of an excited movie-going crowd to plead with them not to make a mess.

Jack Black appears at a ‘MINECRAFT’ movie screening asking fans not to throw popcorn all over the theater. pic.twitter.com/g4eFCEXgD3

— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) April 14, 2025

Not the point, but I was struck by how weirdly muted the excited crowd was. Like, they were yelling but not yelling. It was strange. Regardless, Black surprised the crowd with a special pre-show plea to enjoy themselves but also not make a mess. Hopefully, they heed his words. Theater employees have a hard enough time as it is without a bunch of rowdy teens crushing popcorn into the carpets.