Video Games Like Minecraft Are Replacing Superheroes As Hollywood’s Dominant IP

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In the movie “A Minecraft Movie,” starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, during a scene approximately halfway through, their characters are unexpectedly placed in a boxing ring for a supposed fight to the death. Initially, they face off against a chicken designed in the game’s signature blocky style. However, a peculiarity ensues as a small box lowers from the ceiling, revealing a zombie rider atop the chicken – an unusual in-game incident. This scene, where Black shouts excitedly, “Chicken Jockey!”, has caused quite the stir in movie theaters. Young viewers have been known to toss popcorn, echo dialogue, record TikTok videos, and in some instances, even get ejected from the theater for overexuberance. A New Jersey cinema has even prohibited unaccompanied groups of boys from watching “Minecraft” screenings due to the disruptions.

Due to Chicken Jockey’s rapid popularity (surrounded by numerous Minecraft Movie memes like “50 Steves in Times Square”), the Warner Bros. children’s comedy-thriller unexpectedly became a global box office hit. Over the weekend, it made $163 million domestically and $313.7 million worldwide. Despite a Tomatometer score of only 48%, its earnings surpassed even the most optimistic predictions, which projected a North American total between $70 million and $90 million. In terms of overall financial success: This is the largest opening of the year, the highest three-day total for a video game movie ever, and Warner Bros., the distributor of Minecraft, achieved its third most profitable opening of all time with this film.

Despite the poor performance of director Eli Roth’s mediocre interpretation of Gearbox Software’s game, Borderlands, last summer, video game movies have been outperforming at the box office with remarkable consistency. In a time when a successful video game can earn $20 billion over its commercial lifetime – yet is often viewed as the geeky relative to Hollywood by cultural tastemakers – films like Five Nights at Freddy’s (which made $297.1 million on a budget of $20 million), Paramount’s profitable Sonic the Hedgehog series, and 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie (earning $1.36 billion) have consistently surpassed expectations.

From a particular perspective, the victory of chicken-jockeying in the Minecraft Movie can be seen as a significant shift in Hollywood: an indication of a power transition occurring when Marvel Cinematic Universe films are starting to yield lower returns. As Jeff Bock, senior analyst for Exhibitor Relations, puts it, “Video game movies are eclipsing superhero movies as the preferred genre. These are the legends and tales that appeal to numerous generations. Although gaming may not be considered as trendy or flashy [as film], if you create a movie from the right game, this demonstrates that audiences will flock to it. This is a new intellectual property easily outperforming expectations.

According to an executive at a competing studio, the upcoming “Minecraft Movie” has filled a family-friendly niche in the market following Disney’s expensive live-action flop of Snow White last month. More significantly, Warner Bros. appears to have learned from Marvel’s approach to bringing comic book superheroes to the screen when adapting the Swedish sandbox game, which is the best-selling video game ever made. The studio has been “super-on-brand,” delivering exactly what fans want, from costumes and villains to attitude, this executive notes. “Minecraft” boasts 125 million active daily users. That’s right, daily! And they don’t just play it for a short while. They spend hours on it. Many people might not realize that number is consistently growing, month after month – it’s not like it’s an old statistic. It’s a massive brand that Warner Bros. has hit the mark with. To me, the real hero here is whoever secured the rights [to the game]. It’s a huge intellectual property.

With his frenzied yet heartfelt charm, Jack Black has transformed into what Scott Mendelson in Puck refers to as “a movie star who attracts crowds for large films intended for niche audiences.” Indeed, the star of School of Rock is responsible for some of the most popular catchphrases from the game Minecraft, such as “flint and steel,” “I … am Steve,” “the Nether!”, and “crushing loaf.” As stated by Dana Nussbaum, Warner Bros.’ executive vice-president of worldwide marketing, and Christian Davin, its EVP of worldwide-marketing strategy, the studio opted to deviate from traditional promotional strategies to reflect the game’s creative essence. This allowed for the inclusion of fan-created content in all forms, boosting audience engagement significantly. As a result, A Minecraft Movie trended at No. 1 on YouTube, X, and TikTok during each major phase of the promotional campaign, an unusual full-platform dominance. The #IAmSteve TikTok challenge sparked over 13,000 fan-made videos using official movie sound. Additionally, on TikTok, the hashtags #MinecraftMovie and #AMinecraftMovie amassed 2.4 billion views with 301 million likes and 42 million shares, demonstrating substantial global participation by fans.

Nussbaum explains that instead of simply providing a pre-made product, they aimed to equip the audience with the necessary tools and work together on the creation. This approach not only encouraged but invited the audience to participate, fostering an experience rather than just watching. Since The Rocky Horror Picture Show, such active audience engagement has seldom been seen.

Davin emphasizes that what Warner Bros. chose not to do was just as significant as their actions. He explains, “In another situation, we might be taking a stricter approach with our intellectual property rights and demanding takedowns because someone is recording a movie screen in a theater.” However, he continues, “Instead, we’re thinking, ‘This looks like culture is flourishing, and we want to be part of this cultural movement right now.’ So, unlike X or TikTok or other social media platforms, we didn’t ask for any takedowns.

Amidst a series of recent financial setbacks for Warner Bros., following the underperformance of films like “The Alto Knights” and “Mickey 17,” the release of “Minecraft” has offered a much-needed boost. The studio, led by Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, has faced criticism from higher-ups for overspending on projects like those directed by Ryan Coogler and Paul Thomas Anderson, as well as flops such as “Joker: Folie à Deux” and “Furiosa.” However, the impressive earnings of “Minecraft” are seen as a promising sign for upcoming summer blockbusters like “Sinners,” “F1,” and “Superman.” While some attribute this success to Warner Bros. alone, others credit Legendary Entertainment and its production chairwoman, Mary Parent, for contributing with their expertise in video game-inspired productions like “World of Warcraft.

Experts and industry insiders predict a 60% drop in the second-weekend earnings of “A Minecraft Movie,” which would still be an impressive gross, significantly surpassing initial predictions. Given the recent trend, video-game movies are becoming Hollywood’s go-to for consistent profits, replacing superhero films. This week, Paramount set a release date of January 2027 for “The Angry Birds Movie 3.” The upcoming live-action version of the popular Nintendo series “The Legend of Zelda” (scheduled for March 2027) is also generating excitement. One studio executive expressed enthusiasm, calling it a “home run,” while acknowledging that everyone in the industry is eagerly pursuing the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise. They believe securing this franchise could lead to billion-dollar box office returns, but Rockstar Games, the creators of Grand Theft Auto, are unlikely to cooperate. The executive advises, “Keep trying to connect with them. Have meals together, share drinks. Do whatever it takes to get that franchise!

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2025-04-09 23:54