Swarms of young moviegoers have been flocking theaters this month to enjoy "Minions: The Rise of Gru," the latest film in the "Despicable Me" franchise. But they aren't just going to watch the film. They're dressing the part too.

Since the film's release on July 1, groups — mostly of young men — have been attending the movie in full suits and sunglasses, some with bananas in hand. This is all a part of the latest TikTok trend, "Gentle Minions." The hashtag, #gentleminions, has over 123 million views on the app.

In one video, moviegoers are seen being kicked out of a theater for being obnoxious, disturbing other patrons. In another, young men wear sweatshirts and sweatpants over their suits to get into the theater. This is because some movie theaters are taking steps to ban or issue strict warnings about guests with intentions to create disturbances during the film.

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However, this does not appear to be the case for local movie theaters.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Springfield General Manager Cameron Steel said the theater has welcomed guests who are dressed up, but no bans have been set in place due to the calm nature of these guests.

"We do tend to see some folks coming out whether all dressed in overalls and yellow shirt, that tends to be the biggest thing that we've seen," Steel said. "Outside of that, there's nothing really specific around any trend that we've seen, at least at our location."

Internal communication with staff did occur, as the trend began to pick up, but Steel said the Alamo is fortunate to not have experienced any issues.

"We sent some messaging out to our team just to be aware of what certain trends are going on related to that release and others," Steel said. "But the biggest thing is just for (the employee's) own safety and the protection of our guests as well."

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B&B Theaters, which owns the Ozark/Nixa 12, echoed this.

"We did indeed welcome many guests across the circuit who were participating in the spirit of the Gentle Minions trend, in that they arrived in formal attire, but no shenanigans or inappropriate activity ensued," B&B Theatres Director of Public Relations Paul Farnsworth said. "They merely attended as an ironic group (and) enjoyed the magic of the movies together."

The News-Leader also contacted Regal College Station and AMC Springfield 11 but was unable to speak with a representative by press deadline. 

"Minions: The Rise of Gru" tells the story of 12-year-old Gru attempting to join a group of supervillains known at the Vicious 6. When his interview with the villains goes poorly, Gru and his Minions must take off. But ultimately they learn that even bad guys need help from their friends too.

The film made more than $1 million at the box office opening night, according to Box Office Mojo. As it stands, "Minions: The Rise of Gru" is the largest opener of all the "Despicable Me" franchise in the United States.

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com