CNN —
The blockbuster adaption of the 2011 video game “Minecraft” shattered box office estimates, grossing $157 million domestically, and marking the biggest opening weekend of the year.
Industry analysts initially projected Warner Bros. Pictures’ “A Minecraft Movie” would gross $60 million before adjusting that estimate to about $100 million. Warner Brothers Discovery is the parent company of CNN.
“This is the first major over-performance,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told CNN. “A Minecraft Movie” surged past the opening weekend of Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World,” which had been the top opener of 2025 with an opening weekend of $88.5 million.
“Pre-sales and interest accelerated in a remarkable way during the run-up to opening night,” Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, told CNN in an email. Robbins noted that many college students and teenagers were on spring break during the movie’s opening, which also helped some markets.
Conservative box-office estimates for “A Minecraft Movie” were likely due to mixed reactions to trailers. But this video game adaptation appeals to broad audiences, not critics, according to box office analyst David A. Gross of FranchiseRe.
“When a release catches fire like this, it generates its own momentum and you can set aside all projections,” Gross said.
Video game movies are an increasingly popular genre, from Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which opened with $146 million in April 2023, to the October 2023 debut of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” ($80 million) and Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” ($72 million) in April 2022. “A Minecraft Movie” is now the biggest domestic opening weekend for a film based on a video game, according to Comscore.
“There is a treasure trove of storytelling and (intellectual property) in that arena, making it a sweet spot where the industry can meet young moviegoers and general audiences who’ve become more selective,” Robbins said.
Video game adaptations have performed best when rated PG, according to Dergarabedian, who noted that PG-rated movies outgrossed PG-13 movies last year.
The opening weekend for “A Minecraft Movie” provides a much-needed boost to the overall box office. Industry earnings are down 5% in 2025 but had fallen 13% before the release of “A Minecraft Movie,” according to Comscore.
Robbins described the first quarter of 2025 as a “historically slow movie-going season.” While March 2024 had major film releases, including “Dune: Part Two” and “Kung Fu Panda 4,” the first quarter of 2025 was absent of high-grossing blockbusters.
There is industry optimism for a strong second quarter with Disney’s “Thunderbolts,” a Marvel movie, set to open on May 2, followed by Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” (May 23), and Warner Bros.’ “F1” (June 27).
“We’re finally going to see light at the end of the tunnel after a pretty dismal March,” said Dergarabedian.
