DETROIT — It's become the rallying cry for a generation, a call to arms for moviegoers, and a headache for movie theater owners.

"CHICKEN JOCKEY!"

It's the now-immortal line uttered by Jack Black's character Steve in "A Minecraft Movie," and it's the moment where theater audiences have been losing their collective minds.

Viral videos show crowds — mostly comprised of young teenage boys — erupting into chaos at the moment, throwing popcorn and soda into the air in an unhinged moment of celebration.

Locally, there was some unruly opening weekend behavior from audiences at MJR Theatres, says Joel Kincaid, MJR's vice president of operations. The theater chain operates eight Metro Detroit locations.

"The TikTok trend did create a few disturbances throughout the later showings, mostly just teenagers repeating the lines in the movie or clapping after a certain line was said," Kincaid said in an email to The Detroit News. "A few of the Friday night teenage groups took things a bit too far and threw things down towards the screen, but once we added a presence in the auditorium and added security throughout the weekend, everything calmed down."

Theater etiquette aside, the viral moment has helped fuel a moviegoing sensation: "A Minecraft Movie" obliterated expectations at the box office its opening weekend, collecting $301 million globally, $163 million of that on domestic screens, topping "Barbie's" opening weekend haul of $162 million.

So what's a "Chicken Jockey?" In this instance it involves a Frankenstein child riding a chicken made of blocks toward Jason Momoa's The Garbage Man character inside a makeshift wrestling ring, but the particulars hardly matter. What matters is that it has become a meme, and theatergoers want their chance to be a part of the moment, too, duplicating what they've seen online and re-creating it for themselves.

One New Jersey theater reacted to a particularly rowdy April 5 screening of "A Minecraft Movie" by requiring young moviegoers to be "accompanied by a parent or responsible adult" at future screenings of the movie, which is based on the bestselling video game of all-time.

MJR didn't have to impose any such rules, and Kincaid said the response was more positive than negative, with many moviegoers commenting how excited they were to be a part of the high-energy showings.

"It’s a difficult balance between creating a social and fun atmosphere but respecting others around you, and this film was certainly no different than others in that regard," he said.

Representatives from Emagine Entertainment, which operates nine Metro Detroit theaters, were unavailable for comment.

Box-office analyst Gitesh Pandya, who operates boxofficeguru.com, compares the "Chicken Jockey" moment to the moment in "Avengers: Endgame" when audiences cheered wildly when Captain America gets a hold of Thor's hammer.

"It's essentially a reward for the hardcore fans and helps make the theatrical experience so much better," Pandya said in an email to The News. "It can certainly boost excitement, boost chatter, and boost box office."

He said the videos of the "Chicken Jockey" reactions monetize FOMO, or fear of missing out, and it helps sell the movie to those on the fence.

"It can be the difference between someone probably going to see a film and someone definitely going to see the film," he said. He's not sure viral moments are the future of box office, "but I can see marketers looking for the right opportunities where this idea gets pushed again."

Even if they're not fond of the behavior — or of people whipping out their phones and recording inside auditoriums — theater owners are thankful for the increased business: "A Minecraft Movie" awoke the box office after a sluggish first quarter and marked the year's biggest opening, as well as the best opening weekend box office frame since last summer's "Deadpool & Wolverine."

Warner Bros., the film's distributor, is also excited, and talks for a sequel to "A Minecraft Movie" are reportedly already underway.

So when the next "Chicken Jockey" moment comes along, audiences will be ready. But this time theaters will be, too.

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