“A Minecraft Movie” has emerged as a significant success, generating an estimated $344 million domestically and $720 million globally after three weekends in theaters. This accomplishment makes it the highest-grossing film of the year so far and places it as the second-largest video game movie of all time.
Following the substantial success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed $1.36 billion worldwide two years prior, and the ongoing popularity of “Sonic the Hedgehog” films, it appears that Hollywood has overcome its longstanding video game adaptation challenges.
An anonymous studio executive stated to the Financial Times that video games are becoming the new frontier for intellectual property exploration, succeeding comic books. The executive noted that the key to a successful video game movie is “fan service,” which involves remaining faithful to the characters, the setting of the game, and attention to detail.
It is noteworthy that the most successful game-to-movie adaptations have been family-friendly titles like “Minecraft,” adapted from Mojang Studios’ sandbox game first released in 2011, and “Super Mario.” In contrast, the most successful adaptations for adult audiences, such as “Fallout” and “The Last of Us,” have been produced for streaming and television.
“A Minecraft Movie” also gained momentum from viral social media content, with TikTok videos inspiring young fans to express their excitement during a particular scene when actor Jack Black exclaims, “Chicken jockey!”
While some theater owners show ambivalence towards this trend, reminiscent of the #GentleMinions phenomenon, the filmmakers, including director Jared Hess, have embraced it. Hess shared with Entertainment Weekly that the experience of watching the movie in theaters has turned into a memorable event.
Although “A Minecraft Movie” was recently dethroned from the top of the box office by the unexpected success of the original horror film “Sinners,” it still managed to earn an estimated $41.3 million domestically in its third weekend, suggesting continued growth in its box office earnings.
Warner Bros., the studio behind both “Minecraft” and “Sinners,” is considering a sequel. Jesse Erman, President of Development and Production, stated that fans are eager for more, and the studio hopes to develop future installments.
