Minions: The Rise of Gru has gone from a somewhat anticipated film to one of the biggest openings of 2022, with the animated movie scoring a despicably good box office haul. Part of this stems from the universal love for the Minions, as annoying as they may be to some. On the other hand, it's also got help from memes and social media. That reflects another 2022 film, Morbius, but Minions actually manages to stick the landing.
Morbius was hated pretty fiercely by critics, quickly dampening its box office prospects. Its infamy resulted in its own memes, but when Sony tried to take advantage of them, it got met with further embarrassment. These two different reactions to "meme marketing" showcase the nuances required to make said marketing work while further shaming some of Minions' 2022 movie colleagues.
"GentleMinions" Was an Organic Hype Machine
A bit before the widespread release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, an interesting trend began to circulate on social media. People, namely teenagers, made it known that they planned to go and watch Minions decked out in their finest clothes. Young boys, in particular, got their squad together while dressed to the nines, and the image of such opulent garb accompanying such a childish movie was incredibly comical. Since the movie's official release, this trend has gained lots of traction, and while it can't be credited entirely with the movie's success so far, it definitely contributed to it.
Morbius attempted to pull off a similar trick with its rerelease, banking off of the "It's Morbin' time" meme. Said meme involved a fake scene described on social media wherein the Living Vampire uttered the ridiculous phrase. There was also its equally laughable Milo dance sequence, which was far less cool than the director likely thought. That all got the flop of a movie trending on social media for a bit, inspiring Sony to rerelease it. But that wasn't enough to change its fortunes, let alone make one. The rerelease was a failure, further highlighting how audiences rejected Sony's movie. Of course, the studio would have realized that if it understood the true nature of the memes behind Morbius.
Minions Was Celebrated, Unlike Morbius
The "GentleMinions" and "It's Morbin' time" memes were organically developed out of social media, having nothing to do with official marketing. However, there's a reason why one worked for The Rise of Gru, while the other one was just another insult. Minions: The Rise of Gru was well-received by both fans and critics. On top of that, the meme was marketing the movie before its release, building the opening weekend's box office potential.
Meanwhile, "It's Morbin' time" was making fun of Morbius, poking at what was already a despised film. It also happened after its status as a box office disappointment got cemented, as opposed to Minions premiering along with its accompanying trend. Thus, it was hard for Morbius to take advantage of its renewed "interest," instead getting laughed at in its second failed attempt at earning "morbillion" dollars. The Rise of Gru, on the other hand, is one of the highest-grossing animated success stories in years. That means more sequels for Despicable Me and Minions will likely be on the way, while Sony's Living Vampire, despite the memes, is pretty dead.
To dress up like a GentleMinion, Minions: The Rise of Gru is in theaters now.