'Minions: Rise Of Gru' Was Needed By The Film Industry, Says Oscars CEO

Back in July, a weird and wacky craze swept across the internet. Teenagers around the world flocked to their nearest cinema to watch Minions: The Rise of Gru dapperly dressed in a suit and tie. That’s right. The ‘Gentleminions’ trend took hold. In fact, some The Rise of Gru screenings had to be cancelled because of viewers shouting and throwing bananas at the screen. It was a strange ol’ time and what’s even stranger, is that the film has now got the approval of the Academy Awards.

Check out the Gentleminions trend below.

Sure, it wouldn’t be a total surprise if Minions: The Rise of Gru was to be nominated in the Best Animated Feature category seeing as Illumination are industry leaders, but it’s still not a film you’d expect to get a shoutout from The Academy’s CEO. That’s exactly what’s happened though.

Appearing at the Toronto International Film Festival (via Entertainment Weekly), The Academy’s CEO Bill Kramer told attendees, “We did not hate that [...] The industry needed that.” Well, it’s not the highest praise I’ve ever heard but there you go. The Rise of Gru was essential for the film industry. Who knew?

The film performed exceptionally well at the box office, raking in around $904 million. If you’re yet to catch the film, it’ll soon be making its streaming debut on Peacock on 23 September.