SWARMS OF TEENAGERS have taken to going to Irish cinemas dressed in suits as part of a viral trend associated with the new Despicable Me movie.

Videos of self-dubbed ‘gentleminions’ visiting cinemas in Mahon in Cork and Swords and Dundrum in Dublin have surfaced online in the past 48 hours, each garnering tens of thousands of views.

The TikTok trend, which has been seen in cinemas across the UK and subsequently Ireland, involves large groups of teenage boys dressed in suits filming themselves watching the latest instalment in the Despicable Me franchise.

It is not clear where the trend originated but videos show large groups attending the screenings and copying the main character, supervillain Felonius Gru, and his signature hand gesture.

Some even took bananas to snack on during the screenings, referencing the favourite food of Minions.

Videos show those taking part cheering and clapping loudly and being disruptive during screenings.

The trend has garnered media attention outside the realms of TikTok and Twitter and was discussed on RTÉ Radio 1’s lunchtime radio show, LiveLine. 

Opening this afternoon’s programme, broadcaster Katie Hannon read out an email from a listener who encountered a group of ‘gentleminions’ on a recent cinema visit and described the experience as “chaos”.

“Once the movie started, they began shouting, cheering and throwing,” the listener wrote.

“The kids’ granny was hit with a banana and my wife was hit with a bag of sweets.

“The fire alarm went off and when we did get back in the language was appalling,” they wrote.

The listener alerted the cinema to the incident the following day. The cinema offered compensation and said that the internet phenomenon was wreaking havoc for movie theatres across the country.

Similar disruptive episodes have led to cinemas across the UK banning unaccompanied children from viewing the movie.

A spokesperson for Odeon cinemas in the UK told the PA news agency: “Due to a small number of incidents in our cinemas over the weekend we have had to restrict access in some circumstances.”

Odeon Ireland declined to comment on cinema disturbances in Ireland. 

Movie studio Universal Pictures, which produced the film, has endorsed the ‘gentleminions’ trend, tweeting “to everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you”.

Additional reporting from the Press Association.