"A Minecraft Movie" has shattered box office records, marking an unprecedented first weekend tally for a video game adaptation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film raked in an astonishing $163 million (£128 million) during its initial three days at North American theaters (inclusive of roughly $10 million from Thursday previews), surpassing the previous record-holder, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which garnered $146 million during its opening weekend across the US and Canada in 2023.
Beyond North America, "A Minecraft Movie" also made a splashy debut, adding a commendable $151 million from 75 territories worldwide. In China, where Hollywood blockbusters don't always resonate with mass audiences, the film managed to rake in approximately $14.5 million, overthrowing another record-setter, "Ne Zha 2," which had earlier claimed the title of the most commercially successful animated film of all time in March. In the UK, the film's box office performance was even more impressive, grossing £15.5 million, making it the strongest performer outside North America.
With over 300 million copies sold and more than 140 million monthly players, Minecraft stands as the bestselling video game of all time, boasting over 1.3 trillion views of Minecraft-related videos on YouTube. Its developers, Mojang, were acquired by Microsoft in 2014 for a whopping $2.5 billion.
The movie adaptation has been in the pipeline since 2014, in collaboration with Hollywood studio Warner Bros. and production company Legendary (renowned for films like Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, "Godzilla," and "Dune"). The film's cameras rolled in January 2024. Under the direction of Jared Hess, and featuring Jason Momoa, Jack Black, and Danielle Brooks, "A Minecraft Movie" follows a group of humans who stumble upon a portal leading to the block-filled world of Minecraft.
When an initial trailer was released in September, it triggered a wave of negative reactions, reminiscent of the backlash faced by the first "Sonic the Hedgehog" trailer in 2019. Furthermore, the abundance of Minecraft-related video content on YouTube, created by personalities like CaptainSparklez, Aphmau, and Prestonplayz, fueled suggestions that a feature film spin-off was unnecessary. A prominent YouTuber, ElVitt0ri0, told The Guardian that any Minecraft adaptation should be "a genuine labor of love from fans for fans, not merely a corporate-spat-out product churned out by a major company."
Fortunately, critics' reception to the released film has been largely favorable. New York magazine Vulture hailed it as "a small miracle that the resulting film is so humorous, lively, and agile," while Entertainment Weekly described it as "a refreshing gust of wind after so many family films that seem predetermined by lore." The Guardian deemed it "an exhilarating, albeit hectic experience," while the Observer's Wendy Ide offered one of the few unequivocally negative reviews, calling it "a hastily assembled" and "shameless IP money grab."
Despite these mixed reviews, audience members have been posting videos online showcasing their enthusiastic reactions, including cheering at the iconic "chicken jockey!" moment, a reference to a beloved Minecraft meme.
