‘A Minecraft Movie’ has made chicken jockey a viral thing

A chicken jockey is pictured in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ 'A Minecraft Movie.' (Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures via CNN Newsource)

Leave it to Jack Black to be involved in something over the top.

The comedic actor stars in the new hit film “A Minecraft Movie,” which is based on a popular video game. Gamers are nothing if not loyal players and some of that adoration has transferred to the movie.

Audiences have been going wild over the film’s chicken jockey scene.

Here’s an explanation of what all the hype is about.

It is what it sounds like

A “chicken jockey” is literally that: a Minecraft creature riding a chicken like a horse.

In the viral scene, another of the movie’s stars, Jason Momoa, is seen in a ring with a chicken as Jack Black’s character declares, “It’s a fight to the death, kid!”

Then a box descends from the ceiling, dropping an entity on to the back of the chicken as Black and the spectators of the fight yell, “Chicken jockey!”

The context

Those familiar with the game know that chicken jockeys are rare occurrences.

According to the Minecraft game wiki: “Each baby zombie, baby husk, baby zombie villager, baby zombified piglin, or baby drowned that spawns has a 5 per cent chance to check for an existing chicken within a 10×6×10 box centered on the baby’s spawn location and spawn riding one of those chickens if there are any.”

“If it fails that 5 per cent chance, there is an additional 5 per cent chance of the baby zombie spawning mounted on a new chicken,” the wiki entry adds. “In a chicken-free environment, each spawned zombie has a 0.25 per cent chance of becoming a chicken jockey; if chickens are present, the chance increases to 0.4875 per cent.”

The reaction

Movie audiences have been losing it when the scene takes place, much like some gamers who stream their play do when said chicken jockey appears in the game.

Footage shared on social media has shown moviegoers screaming, tossing buckets of popcorn in the air and enthusiastically applauding.

There have even been reports of police being called to deal with the rowdy behavior, not to mention some theater employees who are unhappy about the cleanup required.

One person shared on X the similarity to another film, which also invites audience participation.

“I saw Minecraft in the theater with my kids last night and am still processing what I saw,” he wrote. “The only cinematic experience I can compare the audience participation to is Rocky Horror, except it’s with teenagers and their phones and the movie is not even a weekend old.”

The viral trend of reacting to chicken jockey will probably keep pecking away given the film’s popularity. “A Minecraft Movie,” distributed by Warner Bros. Studios, racked up almost US$163 million in box office receipts during opening weekend.

Article written by Lisa Respers France, CNN