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Warner Bros. loves participatory theater moments like Minecraft’s “chicken jockey,” but says studios can’t create those trends, only fans can
Participatory theater moments like “chicken jockey” could be the future of cinema, but Warner Bros. thinks studios shouldn’t try to replicate it or they’ll come off as inauthentic
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Chicken jockey.
It was the cry heard round the world. Or at least the cineplex.
When moviegoers went to see A Minecraft Movie, they didn’t sit and passively watch the film. They shouted Jack Black’s dialogue back at the screen, cheered during pivotal moments, threw confetti, and got rowdy. The “chicken jockey” line was especially powerful, and might be one of the biggest cultural moments cinema has had in 2025.
It wasn’t just about seeing the film. It was about participating in a community moment. It was about filming the moment for TikTok (whether theaters wanted you to do it or not). It’s a trend that’s been around long before Minecraft. The 1975 musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show is famous for its audience participation screenings.
While the “chicken jockey” cultural moment helped A Minecraft Movie soar at the box office, Warner Bros. knows better than to try and replicate that energy for future films. The studio says that moments like this have to come from the fans, or it comes off as inauthentic.
“It has to be organic,” Warner Bros. co-chair Pam Abdy says during a Substack discussion with Franklin Leonard. “Mike [De Luca] and I talk a lot about participatory theater. We talk about this term a lot.
“Like Minecraft. Minecraft was very participatory,” Mike De Luca adds. “Yeah, we saw it happen that weekend with chicken jockey. And it happened organically over the weekend. The audiences created that heat and that kind of feel,” Abdy says.
“And even Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, people showing up in costume. You love it when it happens. And that happened with Minions, when all those guys in those suits showed up in the theater,” De Luca says.
Of course, there’s a fine line to it. Authorities had to be called multiple times when moviegoers got out of hand during the “chicken jockey” trend. However, when done right it could be a fun experience. KPop Demon Hunters recently had a limited theater run, and it was filled with fans of all ages screaming, singing along, and shouting lines back at the screen. This helped the animated musical become the top-grossing box office movie of the weekend.
As box offices struggle, the future of the cinema experience may be participatory theater. The problem is, as Warner Bros. says, theaters and studios can’t create those moments. Only we can.
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