SINGAPORE — A group of dapperly dressed Singaporean youth show up in suit and tie at a Shaw cinema. The occasion? They’re watching animation film Minions: The Rise of Gru and have dressed the part for a TikTok trend called #Gentleminions.

The trend, which has gone viral in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland and the Philippines, involves large groups of teenagers — mostly male — showing up in cinemas wearing formal business suits to match the film’s supervillain Gru's ensemble, which consists of a suit and a scarf.

It now seems like the #Gentleminions trend has caught on in Singapore, too.

A video posted by TikTok user "_.itzvan_" last Saturday (July 2) with the caption "22 tickets for Minions: The Rise of Gru please" shows a group of teenagers riding an escalator up to Shaw Lido cinema along Orchard Road. The video has been viewed more than 1.1 million times as of Wednesday (July 6).

Online users here who said that they saw the group at Shaw Lido have left comments on their video, acknowledging the #Gentleminions trend.

TikTok user "euriqca._" commented: "I saw y'all and told my mum y'all confirm watching Minions."

Another user named "sigmaligmasugma6942" said: "I saw 10 people in the mall yesterday and I already knew." 

In another TikTok video uploaded by "amandakbbb" and viewed more than 211,000 times, a group of teenage boys are seen riding an escalator down from Golden Village cinemas at Plaza Singapura mall. They, too, were donning black or grey suits and pants to catch the film, which was released here on June 30.

#GENTLEMINIONS BOOSTS BOX OFFICE SALES

Minions: The Rise of Gru tells the story of a young Gru trying to break into the business of being a villain, accompanied by his minion sidekicks. The movie is the fifth entry in the Despicable Me franchise.

It earned more than US$125 million (S$175 million) during the July 4 long weekend in the US, making it one of the top 10 grossing openings of all time for a Hollywood animated film, The Hollywood Reporter reported. 

This was in part due to the support from a young fanbase that has grown up with the franchise and are now teenagers bonding over the #gentleminions trend. 

Moviemakers Universal Pictures, who caught wind of the trend, have acknowledged it and even gone on to Twitter to say: "To everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: We see you and we love you."

However, not everyone is thrilled about #Gentleminions, with some cinemas in the UK complaining about the ungentlemanly behaviour of the young fans in suits, BBC reported.

A cinema in the British Isles has stopped showing the movie because teenagers following the trend were accused of "vandalism, throwing objects and abusing staff” during the screening. 

Other cinemas in the UK complained of the loud “cheering, clapping, whooping” and standing during the screenings, disrupting the movie experience for children and other movie-goers in the theatre.

Images circulating on social media also showed a sign put up by a UK cinema operator Odeon cinemas: "Due to recent disturbances following the #Gentleminions trend, any group of guests in formal attire will be refused entry for showings of Minions: The Rise of Gru."

Thankfully, there have been no complaints so far of unruly behaviour from the #Gentleminions in Singapore.