We’re at a point now where we perhaps shouldn’t be surprised by any headline (A Minecraft Movie’s box office success has thrown this writer for a loop.
The recently released adaptation of the video game has become a surprise hit in the days since it landed in cinemas, to the point where it has now dethroned Barbie (yes, Barbie to score Warner Bros.’ third biggest domestic debut of all time. That’s based on A Minecraft Movie bringing $163 million (!) in its domestic opening weekend, which itself was $6 million more than original projections.
The ‘MINECRAFT’ movie beat ‘BARBIE’ to become Warner Bros’ 3rd biggest domestic debut of all time.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 7, 2025
The film came in $6M over projections, earning $163M in its domestic opening weekend.
Read our review: https://t.co/uuggEo3o94 pic.twitter.com/kG3Xbck29b
That haul means the Jack Black-starring adaptation now sits behind only Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II as the studio’s biggest domestic debut earners, but the recent Minecraft figures also saw it break a few more records, too. According to Comscore, Minecraft has now spawned the biggest domestic opening weekend for a film based on a video game, beating out the already lucrative success of fellow adaptation, The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
The box office haul for A Minecraft Movie is especially surprising given that, by all s, the movie…doomed from the outset, culminating in a lackuster 48% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Despite the negative reception, A Minecraft Movie’s box office success might’ve been predictable, at least if the recent trend inspired by the movie is to be believed. Dubbed police were called to a cinema to kick out participants in the ‘Chicken Joey’ trend.
With that context, perhaps we should have foreseen that A Minecraft Movie had a more imioned fanbase than we originally imagined, even to the point of usurping the Barbie-pink craze that swept cinemas back in 2023. Of course, it’s possible that a good chunk of moviegoers bought Minecraft tickets simply to see Jennifer Coolidge on screen (me), but who knew her star power could overtake that of Margot Robbie?
HOLY SHIT CHICKEN JOCKEY SAVED THE MINECRAFT MOVIE https://t.co/TcqnSfceBk pic.twitter.com/FQ77saQuII
— Erasmo 🇲🇽 (@elerosmo) April 5, 2025
Speaking with CNN about A Minecraft Movie’s surprise runaway success, box office analyst David A. Gross said that the momentum behind the film, including in the form of the TikTok craze, might go some way in explaining how even a loathed film can rake in so much cash. “When a release catches fire like this, it generates its own momentum and you can set aside all projections,” Ross said. Regardless of where you land in of your thoughts on the film, Minecraft’s box office haul makes one thing clear: in 2025, even the most outlandish news headlines will oftentimes be true.
Published: Apr 7, 2025 10:18 pm