This year, it might come as a shock, but the largest American film to date is “A Minecraft Movie“, a humorous take inspired by the enormously successful line of “Minecraft” video games that have gained significant popularity online.
To date, the movie directed by Jared Hess has earned an impressive $950 million globally in cinemas, outperforming its nearest rival, Lilo & Stitch, by approximately $150 million. With few more accomplishments left to claim on the big screen, it’s preparing for its transition to streaming and is set to debut on Max (formerly HBO Max) within a week.
In the movie, a previous video game prodigy named Jason Momoa and a distressed adolescent named Sebastian Hansen stumble upon an enchanted artifact that transports them into the world of Minecraft. Inside this realm, they encounter none other than Steve, portrayed by Jack Black. The mortal characters must band together to shield this peculiar, pixelated universe from the wicked Malgosha, a piglin hailing from the blazing Nether dimension.
The unique humor and catchy dialogue from “A Minecraft Movie,” such as “Chicken jockey!” and “I… am Steve!”, sparked its popularity online before it even premiered in theaters. Surprisingly large groups of teenagers, a sight not seen often these days, were drawn to the cinema to shout out the lines along with the movie, emulating a trend they’d observed on TikTok. I experienced this phenomenon myself, and as someone who doesn’t use TikTok, I must admit that I was left puzzled. (Age does that to you sometimes.)
At certain viewings, the children became uncontrollably boisterous, necessitating police intervention to restore order. Later, Warner Bros. arranged special screenings where enthusiastic shouting at the screen was welcomed. Now that Minecraft is coming to Max, you can shout “Flint and steel!” as much as you like without fear of arrest (unless your neighbors are particularly vigilant). So, Minecraft players… prepare to set your virtual chickens free!
A Minecraft Movie debuts on Max on June 20.
The 10 Worst TV Game Shows of All Time
Three’s a Crowd (1979-1980)
When we watch relationship-focused reality TV shows such as “The Bachelor,” “90 Day Fiance,” or “Love Island,” it’s primarily for the human drama, unusual scenarios, and instances where conflict is intentionally instigated. In earlier times, this type of drama was typically associated with game shows. One notable example from the late 70s/early 80s that embodied an excessive fascination with causing drama is “Three’s a Crowd,” a short-lived game show designed to determine who knew a man better—his wife or his secretary. Each episode, a man would be asked a series of probing questions about his marriage and work relationships, after which his wife and secretary were brought in to compare their answers with his. The premise of the show is deeply problematic and rooted in harmful heteronormativity, contributing to its brief run on television, along with its 1999 revival.
Pitfall (1981-1982)
Prior to becoming the well-known host of Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek previously hosted the Canadian game show Pitfall in the early 1980s, which unfortunately didn’t last long. The format of Pitfall was somewhat similar to Family Feud: contestants would try to give answers that matched those most frequently chosen by the studio audience before filming even began. Whoever answered correctly the most advanced to the “Pitfall round,” where they had to cross a bridge by answering various trivia questions. If they stepped on random pitfalls, an elevator would slowly lower them to the floor, and they’d have just 10 seconds to answer Trebek before being disqualified. Overall, it was overly complex and not very entertaining to watch. Sadly, the sudden bankruptcy of the production company meant that none of those involved received their full salary for an entire season of work.
The Chamber (2002)
As a die-hard trivia enthusiast, it’s quite eerie to note the striking resemblance between Fox’s torture chamber trivia show and the infamous “Saw” series, despite the timeline. While the first and only season of this chilling show aired two years prior to the original “Saw” movie, the similarities are undeniable. The contestants were subjected to an unnerving ordeal, confined within “The Chamber,” where they had to correctly answer as many trivia questions as possible while enduring extreme temperatures, gusty winds, bursts of fire, simulated earthquakes, and muscle contractions from electrodes, all while their oxygen levels dwindled. The show had a medical team on standby for health emergencies, but thankfully, no contestant ever reached that critical point. Unfortunately, the show was short-lived, with only six episodes airing before it was canceled due to low viewership and understandable controversy.
Are You Hot? (2003)
In simpler terms, the TV show “Are You Hot?” by ABC, also known as “The Search for America’s Sexiest People,” is an example of human endeavor that many find problematic. This competition divided the country into zones based on physical attractiveness and selected contestants from each state to be judged solely on their looks. Viewers had a chance to vote “Hot” or “Not,” while judges like Lorenzo Lamas, Rachel Hunter, and Randolph Duke rated the contestants using a numerical system. Factors such as job, hobbies, and personality were not considered important. This show was part of a wave of reality shows from the early 2000s that focused on physical beauty, and some might argue it was equally or even more harmful than “The Swan,” a show that gave extreme makeovers to people considered unattractive and then judged their post-makeover appearance. The entire first episode of “Are You Hot?” can be found on YouTube if you’d like to experience a sense of unease.
Distraction (2005-2006)
In a more amusing and British variant called Distraction, instead of undergoing intense physical stress during interrogation like in The Chamber, contestants are merely thrown off balance by bizarre circumstances while answering questions. The host, Jimmy Carr, initially poses some questions to reveal humiliating facts about the participants, such as peculiar talents or distasteful jobs. Subsequently, they face distractions such as nudists, paintballs, electric shock collars for dogs, and wrestlers slamming them onto mattresses while answering more questions from Carr. The show has been adapted in several countries including Brazil, India, and the United States, but it seems that none of these versions have gained significant popularity.
Identity (2006-2007)
The Singing Bee (2007)
NBC advanced the debut date of “The Singing Bee” several months ahead to avoid being overshadowed by Fox’s comparable musical competition series, “Don’t Forget the Lyrics!”. However, this didn’t prevent “The Singing Bee” from an untimely end. The show started with a round featuring live audience participation, where participants were chosen randomly and had to identify songs played by the band. This was followed by various contests such as recalling song lyrics, unscrambling song lines, guessing songs based on opening notes, and filling in the blanks during a karaoke round. The initial episode attracted more viewers than ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”, but viewership declined throughout the first season, eventually leading to its cancellation. CMT subsequently revived it for four more seasons until 2012.
Hurl! (2008)
It’s fascinating that a concept like “Hurl!” didn’t gain traction as a game show, and it’s not hard to see why. Watching multiple episodes or seasons of men eating until they vomit isn’t an appealing prospect for most viewers. The idea behind “Hurl!”, which debuted on the pay television video game network G4 in 2008 for one season, was contestants eating as much as possible and then participating in intense physical activities. The last one to vomit was declared the winner. Unfortunately, it didn’t become popular, probably because people aren’t keen on watching such content even for free.
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (2008)
Even the skilled producer Mark Burnett (known for Survivor, The Apprentice, Shark Tank) failed to create an engaging game show from an old-fashioned playground taunt. Titled My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad, the program pitted father-child duos against each other in various physical and mental challenges – running, lifting, trivia, recognizing their own child – to determine which dad was supreme and win a mountain bike and an Xbox 360. Regrettably for all dads, the show was discontinued after its first season due to poor viewership, and it may have also been due to one father suffering a heart attack on camera during a particularly demanding round.
Red or Black (2011-2012)
The thrilling atmosphere of roulette was entirely absent from the television game show titled “Red or Black?“, where participants were eliminated if they incorrectly chose between red or black. Throughout each episode, contestants watched videos of celebrities performing daring stunts, such as Jedward rolling in inflatable ZORBs and David Hasselhoff being launched into the air with a bungee cord. The final round required them to guess the colors within the segments of a customized roulette wheel. A massive set known as “the Red or Black Arena” was constructed for what essentially amounted to a game of guesswork. The first season received widespread criticism, largely due to the winner and another contestant having criminal histories.
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2025-06-13 20:25