A Minecraft Movie smashes records with $157 million debut, topping ‘Super Mario Bros.’ as the biggest video game movie opening ever!
Warner Bros. and Legendary just mined box office gold. A Minecraft Movie debuted to a record-breaking $157 million, marking the highest opening weekend ever for a video game-based film and unseating 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Fueled by a frenzy of fan excitement, a meme-worthy performance from Jack Black, and an inventive marketing blitz, the film has become a cultural event—packing theaters with middle schoolers, dominating social media, and even sparking McDonald’s Happy Meal mania.
The fan-favorite Mojang game adaptation sparked a full-blown phenomenon with sold-out auditoriums across the country—especially in the Midwest, Mountain, and Western regions—where kids could be seen dancing in aisles, quoting memes, and losing their minds as Jack Black’s Steve character broke into song.
The Friday alone brought in $58 million, including $10.55 million from Thursday previews—another record-breaker, this time eclipsing Five Nights at Freddy’s, which previously held the highest preview night total for a video game film. With that kind of launch, Minecraft helped revive an otherwise sluggish 2025 box office, pushing the weekend total across all titles to $197 million, a 154% increase over last weekend.
“This is a moment of true celebration,” said Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairs of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group. “We’re absolutely overjoyed A Minecraft Movie has been so warmly received by audiences around the world.”
Indeed, this massive win is not just about ticket sales. It’s a big comeback moment for Warner Bros., which is still riding high from the success of Barbie. The studio’s smart targeting of digital ads by ZIP code and their expansive, VFX-enhanced marketing strategy played a key role in turning early skepticism into fan enthusiasm.
The marketing campaign, led by Dana Nussbaum, Christian Davin, and John Stanford, was supported by a robust global distribution strategy orchestrated by Jeff Goldstein and his team. Every division across Warner Bros. Discovery contributed, including a buzzy promotional partnership with McDonald’s, whose Minecraft Happy Meals are now a certified sensation. Fans are even pulling up to drive-thrus quoting Jack Black’s character: “You know what I’m here for!”
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Minecraft brought out the big demos:
43% of viewers were between 18–24, followed closely by 13–17 year olds at 35%.
Men under 25 made up 54% of the audience, grading it a strong 78%.
Women under 25 weren’t far behind with a 74% favorability score.
Surprisingly, the film was also a hit with older audiences, earning 79% from those aged 45–54 and 67% from viewers over 55.
PostTrak scores reveal 65% of audiences gave it a “definite recommend,” with under-18s grading it a solid A and general audiences landing on a B+ CinemaScore. On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score is a strong 86%, despite a split critical response (51% on the Tomatometer).
The biggest reasons for attending?
52% said it looked fun.
42% cited the beloved franchise.
30% were sold on the plot.
Notably, star power ranked just below, with Jason Momoa and Jack Black each drawing 28% of audiences.
According to RelishMix, the film’s pre-release buzz reached a massive 772 million in social media reach, outperforming even Sonic the Hedgehog 3 by 46%. Much of that was driven by the cast’s star power—Jack Black boasts 32.7M followers, Jason Momoa 20.1M, and Emma Myers 9.8M.
The live-action adaptation wasn’t always welcomed. When the first teaser dropped last September, fans weren’t thrilled with the look—or the sheep. But as trailers rolled out with enhanced VFX and a promise of faithfulness to the game’s vibe, that tide turned. Now, many fans are praising the film as “just like how Minecraft should look.”
Behind the scenes, A Minecraft Movie had a long, blocky road to the screen. Initially overseen during the Toby Emmerich and Greg Silverman eras, it was De Luca and Abdy who finally greenlit the film as it exists now. Warner Bros. President of Production Jesse Ehrman, who stayed with the project through its ups and downs, is getting major kudos for seeing it through.
This blockbuster debut comes just days after CinemaCon 2025, where every studio doubled down on their commitment to theatrical. With A Minecraft Movie, Warner Bros. didn’t just break a record—they reminded the industry that moviegoing is still alive and well, especially when powered by a global fanbase and a whole lot of memes.
With its $157M debut, A Minecraft Movie doesn’t just build—it conquers. And like the blocks it’s based on, its success could be the foundation for an entire new franchise.
