After more than a decade in development, A Minecraft Movie has finally made its grand debut, striking a chord with audiences and achieving remarkable box office success. The highly anticipated film from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment grossed an impressive $58 million across Friday and preview screenings from 4,263 North American venues. This phenomenal opening figure not only eclipsed Captain America: Brave New World, which earned $40.9 million, but also marks the largest opening day of 2025 thus far. In fact, it's the biggest box office debut since the record-breaking launch of Deadpool & Wolverine in July 2024.
The initial reception of A Minecraft Movie sets it on a trajectory far exceeding early projections, which estimated a domestic opening weekend of between $70 million and $80 million. With such a strong start, industry experts are now predicting that the film could surpass the $150 million mark for its opening weekend. If this projection holds true, it would secure a spot among the top 30 biggest domestic debuts of all time. Furthermore, it is anticipated that A Minecraft Movie will outpace The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which opened with $146 million, for the biggest three-day opening ever for a video game adaptation, despite the latter's unique mid-week debut.
While domestic figures have been impressive, the global appeal of Minecraft is undeniable. The film is also performing well internationally, particularly in China, where it has topped the box office. With a hefty production budget of $150 million and additional marketing costs, A Minecraft Movie is poised for true blockbuster status. Although reviews have leaned negative, audience polling from Cinema Score indicates a solid B+ grade, signifying that the film resonates well with fans, which is crucial for success in the franchise-driven film market.
Minecraft, originally released in 2011, has become the best-selling video game of all time, second only to Tetris. The journey to bring this beloved game to the big screen began in 2014, with Warner Bros. spearheading development. In 2022, Legendary Entertainment joined as a co-producer, leading to the PG-rated adaptation directed by Jared Hess. The film features a star-studded cast, including Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge.
In addition to A Minecraft Movie, other films debuted this weekend. Fathom Events released its second package of episodes for The Chosen: Last Supper, earning $2.8 million across Friday and preview screenings. This engaging Biblical adaptation has been split into three theatrical releases, with Episodes 4-6 hitting theaters this weekend.
Meanwhile, Neon launched Hell of a Summer, featuring Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk, across 1,255 locations, garnering approximately $720,000 on its opening day. This indie film is projected to earn around $1.7 million over its opening weekend.
In other box office news, Amazon MGM’s A Working Man looks to slide to second place after a strong debut last weekend. The Jason Statham-led vigilante thriller earned $1.9 million on Friday and is expected to drop about 53% in its second week of release.
Disney’s Snow White, now in its third weekend, is seeing a significant decline, earning just $1.5 million on Friday—a drop of 60% from the previous week. With a current domestic gross of $72 million, there are concerns it may not reach the $100 million mark, a disappointing outcome for a production budget of $250 million.
Finally, Universal’s The Woman in the Yard rounds out the top five, adding $1.3 million on Friday. This Blumhouse thriller is expected to earn $4.3 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total to $16.5 million, which, despite mixed audience reactions, indicates a steady performance against a $12 million production budget.
