The Rock to Wicked, Moana fans: Sing at the movies

Dwayne Johnson is no stranger to controversy. And this week on the red carpet for his new film Moana 2Johnson dropped his next polarizing wisdom bombshell: Musical fans should feel free to sing in the movies.

“Sing!” he told the BBC. “You paid your hard-earned money for a ticket, went to a musical and loved it.”

While Moana 2 is full of songs, The Rock’s comments come at a particularly heated time in the cinematic etiquette discourse thanks to the arrival of Wicked: Part One. The hit film, based on the long-running Broadway show, has become a major event for music lovers and fans of the color green. And even on preview night, reports poured in on social media that fans of Evil burst into song along with the film, muffling the work of stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

In the wake of the Sing-A-Long outbreak, theater chains urged patrons to remain silent, while academics in the field of film art called audiences’ karaoke instincts “intolerable behavior.” Johnson disagrees.

“Especially if you love music,” he said, “that’s the fun.”

While Johnson may not be “The Rock” on a red carpet, the star can’t resist getting into WWE heel mode. He’s one of our biggest stars when it comes to getting out there and just saying shit. The actor caused a stir a few weeks ago for suggesting this Oppenheimer directly inspired his vision for this month’s poorly received action Christmas film Red. Over the summer, he caused a stir by declining to take a political side in the 2024 election out of dedication to his mission of bringing people together. “I don’t trust all politicians, I trust the American people, and I trust that whoever they elect will be my president and I will support them 100 percent,” he said in an April interview on Fox News. which was definitely very well received. The proclamation that 2022 Black Adam “Would Change the “Hierarchy of Power in the DC Universe” might be his greatest work in this regard.

With his off-the-cuff thoughts on singing in cinemas, Johnson once again positions himself as someone who is aimed at all types of viewers, even if they are almost universally anti-artists. The Rock will rock you.

Despite all the finger-wagging and excitement, Universal Pictures is already addressing the problem: According to the studio, interactive screenings of Evil will hit nearly 1,000 North American theaters beginning December 25th. If the theater kids can keep the songs in their hearts for just a month without exploding, everyone could be happy this holiday season.