Warner Bros.A Minecraft Movie had a blockbuster opening weekend at the global box office, and all signs point to the video game adaptation grossing $1 billion worldwide.
It didn’t look good for A Minecraft Movie. Reviews were largely negative, with the film scoring a lowly 46% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and Dexerto’s own Minecraft Movie review calling out “the atrocious dialogue, almost non-existent storyline, [and] animated animals that look like they were created purely to be made into Happy Meal toys.”
The film was projected to gross between $70 million and $80 million on opening weekend, which isn’t to be sniffed at. But with A Minecraft Movie costing an estimated $150 million to make – before factoring in marketing and advertising costs – it looked like the film would be just a modest success.
But analysts failed to comprehend fan love for the game, which saw them pack cinemas on opening day, and turn the weekend into a Minecraft event that will be build towards a billion-dollar success for studios Warner Bros. and Legendary.
A Minecraft Movie is busy breaking box office records
Warner Bros.That number is the holy grail for big releases, but A Minecraft Movie grossed $157 million in US cinemas, making it the biggest domestic launch of the year. Plus $144 million internationally, meaning a global total of $301 million.
There’s obviously a long way to go to reach a billion, but two points of comparison suggest Minecraft will effortlessly pass that number.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie previously held the record for biggest opening weekend of a video game adaptation, with $146 million domestically, on its way to a global haul of $1.36 billion. So having surpassed the Mario and Luigi debut, Minecraft will doubtless be gunning for their total.
Another reference point is Inside Out 2, which is the biggest animated movie of all-time thanks to a box office total of $1.699 billion. But with an opening weekend of $154 million domestically, that too has been dwarfed by Minecraft.
Inside Out 2 received great reviews which helped with word-of-mouth across its theatrical run, but don’t underestimate the Minecraft fans who are whooping and cheering their way through screenings, as well as causing the odd riot.
Marketing of the movie has also been all-encompassing, with McDonald’s, Oreo, and Doritos signing lucrative deals to promote Minecraft, which will keep it in the public consciousness for the next weeks.
Indeed, A Minecraft Movie doesn’t have any real box office competition until Disney and Marvel release Thunderbolts* in May, so April should belong to Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and the wild cast of video game characters.
“When we make films, we all hope they will connect with the culture,” says Legendary chair Mary Parent. “But when they do, they take on a life of their own. It’s like lighting dynamite.”
A Minecraft Movie is in cinemas now, and for more on the film, check out how it connects to Nacho Libre and the Easter egg you can’t miss, plus details of the Minecraft ending and post-credits scene.
