Weekend ticket sales totaled $163 million, Warner Bros. said, more than double the expected amount, ending a Hollywood dry spell.
There are no fail-safe formulas in Hollywood, but this one comes close:
Take an established yet underexploited (or musty) cultural property — preferably one that stirs strong feelings of nostalgia among young adults — and add stars playing to type, abundant visual effects and a savvy marketing campaign that makes core fans feel appreciated.
It’s difficult to pull off, but Legendary Entertainment has done it repeatedly. The most recent example came over the weekend with “A Minecraft Movie,” which was made in partnership with Warner Bros. The film sold an astounding $163 million in tickets in North America from Friday through Sunday, according to Warner Bros., which distributed the film in addition to co-producing it. (On Sunday, analysts had estimated $157 million for the weekend.)
Before release, citing advance ticket sales and surveys that track consumer interest, analysts had projected a domestic opening weekend of closer to $80 million. “It’s an absolute blast to see moviegoers around the world coming together to celebrate their love for Minecraft,” Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairs of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said in a statement.
“A Minecraft Movie,” a PG-rated comedic fantasy starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa and based on the 2009 block-building video game, also scored overseas, where it took in an additional $151 million.
The film cost $150 million to make, not including global marketing costs. Warner Bros. covered 75 percent of the budget. Legendary, which is independently owned, shouldered the balance. Reviews were mixed.
Hollywood in general, and Warner Bros. in particular, badly needed a hit. Box office revenue in the United States and Canada fell 11 percent in the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2024, in part because of major flops like “Snow White” (Disney) and “Mickey 17” (Warner Bros.). There were also other underperformers, including a pair of low-budget duds from the once-unstoppable Blumhouse horror studio.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
