Hollywood needed 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie鈥 to be a hit, and it delivered in its opening weekend, significantly narrowing this year's box office deficit.
No one guessed just how big it would be. In its first few days in theaters, the movie earned a staggering $157 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. Internationally, it鈥檚 looking at an additional $144 million for a global debut of $301 million. And with school spring breaks ongoing, is just getting started.
鈥淲e're just thrilled that audiences are responding and that everyone's going to the theater,鈥 said Pamela Abdy, the co-chair and CEO of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.
Not only is it the biggest opening of 2025, 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie鈥 also broke the record for a video game adaptation, a distinction previously held by 鈥淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie" ($146 million). Going into the weekend, analysts projected 鈥淢inecraft鈥 might hit $80 million. Instead, it nearly doubled that figure.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 underestimate the value of earnest, entertaining, joyous cinema,鈥 said Michael DeLuca, also co-chair and CEO. 鈥淧eople really want an escape, especially when it involves the whole family.鈥
Nothing is guaranteed in the movie business, but an offering based on the best-selling video game of all time makes for a good start. It hardly mattered that the block-based game doesn鈥檛 exactly have a narrative. Many of its 200 million active monthly players turned out in droves anyway.
DeLuca said it鈥檚 one of the 鈥渂roadest playing movies鈥 they鈥檝e ever seen, meaning it鈥檚 working in all sizes of cinemas all over the world.
The PG-rated movie, directed by Jared Hess (鈥淣apoleon Dynamite鈥), was a co-production of Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. It cost a reported $150 million to make, not including marketing and promotion expenses. and Jason Momoa lead the ensemble cast (Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers and Sebastian Eugene Hansen). Their characters are transported into an imaginative dimension called the Overworld and need to go on a dangerous, and immensely silly, adventure to get home.
鈥淲e made the movie for the fans and the fans exceeded our expectations,鈥 DeLuca said.
Critics were largely mixed on 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie,鈥 but audiences gave it a more promising B+ CinemaScore and 4/5 stars in PostTrak exit polls. Men made up around 62% of the audience, and 64% were under the age of 25. Warner Bros. went big on its release, opening the film in 4,263 locations domestically and 36,000 screens internationally.
鈥淵ounger audiences love going to the movie theater, believe it or not,鈥 said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭his is the perfect small screen to big screen alliance. It became a must-see theatrical event. Awareness was off the charts.鈥
Video game adaptations have had some pivotal successes in recent years, including the 鈥淪onic鈥 series and
鈥淰ideo games were once a genre that had very mixed results at the box office, but the code has finally been cracked,鈥 Dergarabedian said.
Second place at this week's box office went to the Jason Statham action pic which added $7.3 million in its second weekend. Third place was occupied by the second installment in the episodic 鈥淭he Chosen: Last Supper鈥 series. Part two (made up of episodes three through five) earned $7 million over the weekend. The third and final batch of episodes arrive in theaters on April 11.
鈥淪now White鈥 slid to fourth place in its third weekend, bringing in $6.1 million. It's now made over $168 million globally.
It鈥檚 been a difficult start to 2025 for Hollywood and movie theaters, with disappointments including and But one hit can change the tides significantly, especially with in-theater marketing pushes in full swing for the pivotal summer movie season, which kicks off the first weekend in May.
Before this weekend, the box office was running at a 13% deficit compared with last year. Now the gap is down to 5%.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and 好色tv theaters, according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie,鈥 $157 million.
2. 鈥淎 Working Man,鈥 $7.3 million.
3. 鈥淭he Chosen: Last Supper 鈥 Part 2,鈥 $7 million.
4. 鈥淪now White,鈥 $6.1 million.
5. 鈥淭he Woman in the Yard,鈥 $4.5 million.
6. 鈥淒eath of a Unicorn,鈥 $2.7 million
7. 鈥淭he Chosen: Last Supper 鈥 Part 1,鈥 $1.9 million.
8. 鈥淗ell of a Summer,鈥 $1.8 million.
9. 鈥淭he Friend,鈥 $1.6 million.
10. 鈥淐aptain America: Brave New World,鈥 $1.4 million.
