Scene from “A Minecraft Movie”
Jack Black and Jason Momoa’s A Minecraft Movie is new in theaters and appears to be heading for a big opening at the box office. Does that mean the film will get a sequel?
A Minecraft Movie is based on Mojang Studios’ 2011 release Minecraft, which went on to become the biggest video game of all time.
The official summary for A Minecraft Movie reads, “Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits — Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) — find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination.
“To get back home, they’ll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like Piglins and Zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Black). Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each of them uniquely creative … the very skills they need to thrive back in the real world.”
A Minecraft Movie played in Thursday previews, where it brought in $10.55 million — making it the biggest preview night for a video game movie ever by narrowly surpassing Five Nights At Freddy’s $10.3 million preview night in 2023, Deadline reported.
With the huge preview night tally, A Minecraft Movie appears to be headed toward an opening weekend of $80 million in North American theaters, Deadline reported. That’s $15 million above the film’s opening weekend projections.
Warner Bros. estimated that A Minecraft Movie would make $65 millon domestically and $65 million internationaly for a $130 million worldwide opening weekend, Deadline reported. The trade pubication predicted a $140 million opening weekend based on a stronger projection in international ticket sales.
The estimated $80 million take now seems to be in line with Box Office Pro tracking report this week, which projected A Minecraft Movie to open with anywhere from $80 million to $100 million in domestic earnings.
No matter the case, Warner Bros. will be in good shape after the opening weekend of A Minecraft Movie, especially considering that, per Deadline, the film had a $150 million production budget before prints and advertising costs.
That’s a reasonably-priced picture in comparison to most Hollywood tentpole movies — which often run in the $200 million range before P&A — and seems like an outright bargain it took to make Disney’s Snow White. The live-action adaptation of the 1937 animated classic had a the gargantuan production budget of $270 million before P&A.
In Hollywood, big opening numbers always bode well for the opening of any film, especially one that could be developed into a franchise — which is clearly an idea on Warner Bros.’ radar given the ending of A Minecraft Movie.
Note: The next section discusses spoilers about the end credits of ‘A Minecraft Movie.’
‘A Minecraft Movie’s’ After-Credits Scene Sets The Stage For ‘A Minecraft Movie 2’
With all the financials seemingly falling into place for A Minecraft Movie, Warner Bros. can breathe a little easier knowing that the film includes not only an after-credits scene but another that runs in the middle of the end credits.
The first scene during the end credits involves Jennifer Coolidge’s high school principal character Marlene at dinner with Villager (voice of Matt Berry) who escaped from the Overworld. The scene doesn’t necessarily suggest that a sequel is possible and serves as more of a bookend to Marlene and the Villager’s scenes earlier in the movie.
The definitive moment that signals a sequel is all but a given happens after the credits role when Jack Black’s Steve returns to his old house to retrieve a chest in the attic. The new owner of the house — a redheaded woman named Alex — introduces herself to Steve and invites him in, which appears to be an invitation to another Minecraft adventure.
Alex — who is only seen from behind — is played in an uncredited cameo by Kate McKinnon, Deadline reported. For fans of the video game, Alex is Steve’s female counterpart in the Overworld.
At this point, one can only hope that not if — but when — A Minecraft Movie 2 is announced that McKinnon has committed to join Black for the next big-screen Minecraft adventure.
A Minecraft Movie is new in theaters Friday.
