A Minecraft Movie is the biggest Hollywood box office hit of the year so far, and its overperformance provides several lessons that Hollywood needs to learn. Heading into the film’s opening weekend, there were modest expectations for the video game movie’s financial outlook. No one expected A Minecraft Movie‘s opening weekend box office to make a record $163 million domestically, with the overall earnings worldwide climbing to $313.2 million. That was just the start of the video game movie’s power house box office performance despite bad reviews.

Currently, A Minecraft Movie has made $816.5 million at the box office worldwide. It was one of the two biggest movies in America for its first three weeks of release and it is still in the top five after a month in theaters. With the movie rapidly approaching the $1 billion milestone, A Minecraft Movie enters the summer movie season as Hollywood’s biggest hit. It’s nearly doubled up Captain America: Brave New World‘s total and is well above anything else that’s come out this year. Hollywood should take notes from A Minecraft Movie‘s box office surge.

4

There Needs To Be More Movies For Gen Alpha

They Should Be The Target Demographic More Broadly Speaking

A Minecraft Movie‘s box office success has largely been attributed to the film’s ability to captivate the minds of Gen Alpha, anyone born after 2010 until now. Warner Bros. made a smart bet by finally getting the adaptation of the hit video game off the ground here. It’s a тιтle that is more so popular with children and teenagers, as the Minecraft game launched in 2011. It’s essentially been around for the entirety of Gen Alpha’s existence and remains a тιтle that kids of that generational are still playing and discovering.

Hollywood can often be stuck adapting older movies, shows, comics, games, and books that the adult executives know about. This can often lead to making movies based on properties that Gen Alpha isn’t familiar with, relying on the nostalgia of adults to try and make a film successful. A Minecraft Movie proves that its time to leave the 70s, 80s, and 90s properties behind and look at what the current generation of young potential moviegoers are interested in. Whether that’s video games like League of Legends or Fortnite or shows like Bluey, Gen Alpha’s interests should be catered to.

3

TikTok Trends Can Really Boost Awareness For A Movie

Chicken Jockeys Are Well-Known Now

There’s also a clear connection that can be made to A Minecraft Movie‘s viral moments on TikTok and its sustained box office success. By now, most know what a Chicken Jockey is or have heard Jack Black’s “Steve’s Lava Chicken” song. Those are but a few of the ways A Minecraft Movie built a bigger cultural footprint. This, again, connects back to drawing interest from Gen Alpha. The key here is that the viral trends drove additional business to theaters as people wanted to make their own videos and participate in the various trends.

While the reactions and fallout of certain trends went too far, with arrests, destroyed theaters, and more transpiring, A Minecraft Movie‘s popularity on social media elevating the box office is undeniable. This has happened before too. Barbie spawned several TikTok trends as it made $1.4 billion, while Minions: The Rise of Gru used the GentleMinions to amᴀss its $940 million haul. It’s impossible to really predict what parts of movies will start TikTok trends, so films shoudn’t include just for their viral potential. But, studios should take note of how influential TikTok can be to a film’s box office nowadays.

2

Jason Momoa & Jack Black Are Pretty Bankable At The Box Office

They Appeal To All Types Of Audiences

Jason Momoa and Jack Black are two people who could directly benefit from A Minecraft Movie‘s box office success. It’s the latest film for each of them to do well financially and overperform the intial expectations.

Momoa was the star of WB’s $1 billion Aquaman and its nearly $440 million sequel. He was also in Dune and Justice League in scene-stealing roles, helping them make $429 million and $655 million respectively. Momoa’s charismatic villain performance in Fast X was also a highlight of the $714 million franchise installment. Overall, A Minecraft Movie is Momoa’s fifth straight live-action movie to make over $400 million at the box office.

Black has also become a rather bankable box office draw over the last 15 years or so. A Minecraft Movie cements Jack Black’s Gen Alpha connection after being in recent hit franchises like Jumanj, Kung Fu Panda, and Goosebumps, as well as The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Even though his face isn’t always featured, his name recognition still works. He’s someone adult audiences love from some older comedic films, and now he’s managed to carve out a connection with the next wave of movie-lovers

1

Kids Are The Key To Making The Biggest Video Game Movies

This Should Be Obvious By Now

Hollywood somehow hasn’t already learned this lesson, but A Minecraft Movie reaffirms that kids are the key to making video game movies mᴀssively popular. Studios have seen a lot of success with PG video game movies that are enjoyable for the entire family. This includes utilizing iconic video game characters like Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Pikachu. Steve from Minecraft might not be as iconic of a figure as them, but A Minecraft Movie smartly targeted kids and families with its lighter story and broad comedy.

Video game movie adaptations have often gotten in trouble when Hollywood moves away from this PG framework. Sometimes that’s necessary when doing Five Nights at Freddy’s, Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, or Uncharted. But, it’s clear that if Hollywood wants more billion-dollar single video game movies or franchises, they need to make them for kids, or at least appeal to them. More adult-driven adaptations like The Last of Us or Fallout can be better served on TV, while kid-friendly video games follow A Minecraft Movie‘s path.