‘Minecraft’ Film Provides Box-Office Boost for Hollywood
A Minecraft Movie has given Hollywood a much-needed boost with its successful opening weekend, greatly reducing the box office shortfall for the year.
The film’s performance exceeded all expectations, earning an impressive $157 million in the U.S. and Canada during its first weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Its international earnings added another $144 million, bringing its worldwide debut to a total of $301 million. With spring breaks still in progress, A Minecraft Movie is poised for continued success.
Pamela Abdy, co-chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, expressed her delight, stating, “We’re just thrilled that audiences are responding and that everyone’s going to the theater.”
A Minecraft Movie not only marks the biggest opening of 2025 but also surpassed The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($146 million) to become the highest-grossing video game adaptation. Prior to the weekend, analysts predicted a potential $80 million opening for Minecraft, but the film nearly doubled that projection.
Michael DeLuca, also co-chair and CEO, emphasized the importance of the film’s appeal: “You can’t underestimate the value of earnest, entertaining, joyous cinema. People really want an escape, especially when it involves the whole family.”
While success in the movie industry is never guaranteed, a film based on the best-selling video game of all time had a strong foundation. Despite the game’s lack of a traditional narrative, its enormous player base of 200 million active monthly players flocked to see the movie.
DeLuca noted that it’s one of the “broadest playing movies” they’ve ever seen, performing well in cinemas of all sizes around the world.
The PG-rated film, directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), is a joint venture between Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros., with a production budget of $150 million, excluding marketing expenses. The cast, led by Jack Black and Jason Momoa (along with Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, and Sebastian Eugene Hansen), portrays characters who journey to the Overworld, a fantastical realm, embarking on a comical and perilous quest to return home.
DeLuca stated, “We made the movie for the fans and the fans exceeded our expectations.”
While critical reception was mixed, audiences gave A Minecraft Movie a promising B+ CinemaScore and a 4/5 star rating in PostTrak exit polls. Men accounted for approximately 62% of the audience, with 64% being under the age of 25. Warner Bros. launched a large-scale release, showing the film in 4,263 locations domestically and 36,000 screens internationally.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, commented on the draw for younger viewers: “Younger audiences love going to the movie theater, believe it or not. This is the perfect small screen to big screen alliance. It became a must-see theatrical event. Awareness was off the charts.”
Recent years have seen significant successes in video game adaptations, including The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Sonic films, and Five Nights at Freddy’s.
“Video games were once a genre that had very mixed results at the box office, but the code has finally been cracked,” Dergarabedian observed.
In other box office news, A Working Man, starring Jason Statham, secured second place with $7.3 million in its second week. The second installment of The Chosen: Last Supper series took third place, earning $7 million over the weekend. The final set of episodes will be released in theaters on April 11.
Snow White dropped to fourth place in its third weekend, adding $6.1 million to its total, which now exceeds $168 million globally.
Hollywood and movie theaters have faced a challenging start to 2025, with disappointments like Snow White and Mickey 17. However, a single hit can significantly shift the momentum, particularly with the summer movie season approaching in May and its associated in-theater marketing campaigns.
Prior to this weekend, the box office was lagging 13% behind last year’s figures. This hit has narrowed the deficit to 5%.