The world’s biggest video game is now looking to be the box office’s biggest savior, as Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures’ A Minecraft Movie begins its big screen quest with a $50 million start to the weekend (including close to $11M in Thursday night previews), projected to surpass $130M over the weekend from $4,263 theaters.
The new live-action family adventure replete with game-inspired practical props and sets as well as CG critters from the world of Minecraft is shaping up as the biggest three-day opening YTD, ahead of Captain America: Brave New World ($88.8M), and the driving force behind the biggest domestic box office weekend YTD of 2025, surpassing Feb. 14-16 ($154M).
In the Top 5 going into the weekend, Disney’s live-action Snow White reimaging hangs on at No. 4, with a projected three-day of $5.7M, down 60% in its third week, reaching a domestic running cume of $77M.
The rocketing start for A Minecraft Movie is clearly built on fan anticipation, as the game adaptation was received with a mediocre 48% splat from Rotten Tomatoes … and an 83% on the audience-rated Popcornmeter. Reviewers have offered sharply antithetical takes on the pic — as in “Another example of Hollywood shoving a beloved property into the factory mold (cube-shaped mold, natch), hoping name recognition will be enough to justify its existence” (San Francisco Chronicle) vs. “Th[e] loosey-goosey attitude, an ‘open sandbox’ if you will, is a breath of fresh air after so many family films that seem preordained by lore” (Entertainment Weekly).
In an entertainment era where debate about what is or is not art rages, reinflamed by the AI question, it seems that the old saw holds true: consumers may not know “art,” but they know what they like.
Synopsis: Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits — Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen; Just Mercy), Natalie (Emma Myers; Wednesday) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks; The Color Purple) — find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination.
To get back home, they’ll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like Piglins and Zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Jack Black). Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each of them uniquely creative … the very skills they need to thrive back in the real world.
A Minecraft Movie is directed by directed by Jared Hess (Nacho Libre, Thelma the Unicorn, Oscar-nominated animated short Ninety-Five Senses). Warner Bros. Pictures is distributing worldwide, with Legendary handling the film’s China release.
Sunday Update: The movie brought in $157 million from U.S. theaters and grossed over $301 million worldwide (in 75 markets — it will open in Japan and Korea launch later). It was the best opening for any Hollywood movie in 2025 so far. Minecraft had the second biggest opening for a videogame adaptation, just behind last year’s The Super Mario Bros Movie.
$157,000,000
[Source: Deadline]
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