Grab your pickaxe because “A Minecraft Movie,” based on the popular sandbox video game, is hitting theaters this weekend.
Warner Bros. and Legendary’s family-friendly video game adaptation has made $10.55 million at the box office in Thursday previews so far. The film is projected to make between $70 million to $80 million in its opening weekend. Some estimates are as high as $90 million, but Warner Bros. is playing it safer and putting it at $65 million. Internationally, it’s expected to add at least $65 million for a worldwide opening of $135 million to $150 million. With a $150 million price tag, plus more in marketing costs, “A Minecraft Movie” stands to be a box office success for Warner Bros. after recent misfires like “The Alto Knights” and “Mickey 17.”
Video game adaptations have been hit or miss at the box office, with 2023’s “Super Mario Bros. Movie” being the highest-grossing video game movie with $1.3 billion. On the other end of the spectrum is last year’s “Borderlands” movie, which flopped with just $33 million worldwide. Despite some unfavorable reviews, “Minecraft” seems like it’ll fall between “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (which made $10.3 million in previews) and “Mario” ($26.5 million in previews).
Starring Jack Black, Jason Momoa and “Wednesday” star Emma Myers, “A Minecraft Movie” takes viewers inside the Overworld, the video game’s blocky universe where gamers can build anything they can imagine. When normal people from our world suddenly get transported into the Overworld, they must master all the creative “Minecraft” skills and defeat video game enemies like creepers, piglins and zombies to return to Earth. The cast also includes Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge, Sebastian Hansen and Rachel House.
