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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents List of films based on video games Many video games have been adapted into films. These include local, national, international, direct-to-video and TV releases, and (in certain cases) online releases. They include their scores on Rotten Tomatoes, the region in which they were released, approximate budget, their approximate box office revenue (for theatrical releases), distributor of the film, and the publisher of the original game at the time the film was made (this means that publishers may change between two adaptations of the same game or game series, such as Mortal Kombat). Also included are short films, cutscene films (made up of cutscenes and cinematics from the actual games), documentaries with video games as their subjects and films in which video games play a large part (such as Tron or WarGames). Theatrical releases By original language of the release. Television films Direct-to-video Short films Listed below are original short films produced, commissioned or licensed from a game publisher. Documentaries on video games Films with plots centered on video games See also Notes References External links |
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Contents Swedish Film Database The Swedish Film Database (Swedish: Svensk filmdatabas) is an Internet database about Swedish films, published by the Swedish Film Institute. It contains information about all Swedish films from 1897 onwards and foreign films that had their first cinema release in Sweden. It also provides many biographies of actors, directors, producers and others who have participated in Swedish films over the years. It is created with the support of the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation. The database comprises about 62,000 films (17,000 Swedish films) and 265,000 people. References External links This website-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
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[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Minecraft_Movie#cite_ref-Country_6-1] | [TOKENS: 6034] |
Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents Total Film Total Film was a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly with a summer issue added, between the July and August issues, every year since issue 91, 2004) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offered cinema, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews, and features. Total Film was available both in print and interactive iPad editions. In 2014, it was announced online that Total Film would be merging into GamesRadar+, alongside SFX, Edge, and Computer and Video Games. In October 2024, Future announced that the publication of Total Film would be ending on issue 356, with the publication joining All About Space, Total 911 and 3D World as titles axed by the company at the same time. Features Each month, Total Film provided a range of features, from spotlight interviews with actors and directors to the making of on-set pieces for new and future releases. Each issue always included the "Total Film Interview", which was a six-page in-depth chat with an actor or director, along with a critique of their body of work. Key sections within the magazine Foreign editions Licensed local editions of Total Film are released in many countries, including Turkey, Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Indonesia, plus many others. Online presence Total Film's online presence includes the website, forum & digital edition, as well as pages on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. There is also a Total Film iPhone app. On iPad Total Film has been available in an interactive version for iPad since April 2012. Readers can interact with the pages, watch trailers and bespoke videos from photoshoots and link to buy DVDs from iTunes. The Total Film iPad app won Film Magazine of the Year at the 2012 Digital Magazine Awards. The judges said: "Full of tablet-specific features, great content, and interactivity. This a great read that makes the most of the digital format, a fantastic digital magazine." See also References External links |
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Contents Valnet Valnet, Inc. is a Canadian media company established in August 2012 by Hassan and Sam Youssef in Montreal, Quebec. It operates primarily in the entertainment media industry, where it has sought to acquire producers of content in this space. In this way, it has become the parent company of several internet media publications including TheGamer, Collider, Comic Book Resources, MovieWeb, Screen Rant, Game Rant, XDA Developers, GiveMeSport, MakeUseOf, How-To Geek and military.com. There have been complaints from writers about working conditions and the low pay offered by the company, and employees have said the company prioritises "mass quantity over quality" and "SEO bait" content. History Matt Keezer, Stephane Manos, Sam Youssef, and Hassan Youssef met through their common interest in competitive foosball, and started a business in online pornography in 2003, growing their successful enterprise under the Brazzers name. Keezer began Pornhub under the company Interhub separately from Brazzers, and the businesses remained silent partners. In 2009, Interhub hosted videos of the rape of an underage girl, according to a BBC News report in 2020. The founders sold their pornography assets in March 2010 to Fabian Thylmann, while the Youssef brothers took time off from business, until they eventually founded Valnet in August 2012. Sam Youssef later invested in Constellation Software, whose business model he reportedly loved. The company started a YouTube channel in January 2016 called "Little Angel", which provides animated content aimed at toddlers. By April 6, 2016, the company acquired Comic Book Resources (CBR), with Valnet CEO Hassan Youssef retaining the editorial team and taking over their offices. On November 17, 2020, Valnet announced that it had acquired Collider. Valnet acquired XDA along with four other websites—Pocketnow, AppAdvice, BackyardBoss and Hook&Bullet—from Busy Pixel Media in February 2022. Also that month, the company sold Little Angel to Moonbug, the owner of Cocomelon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In May 2023, it was reported that Valnet had laid off several key figures at CBR, including editor-in-chief Adam Swiderski, senior new editor Stephen Gerding, and senior features editor Christopher Baggett. In June, it was reported that CBR's employees had been finding difficulty in keeping up with Valnet's content demand. The company was reportedly "seemingly firing those who try and stand up for writers" in its bid to attempt to improve its work culture and performance. Fired staff vocalized discontent for these firings on Twitter, due to what was allegedly the full shutdown of the website news section, which the company refuted. Valnet acquired OpenCritic by August 2024 in an attempt to integrate the aggregator into its other businesses in the gaming sector. It announced plans to turn the site into a social media platform. The company signed a lease for the 740 Broadway building in New York City by October 2024, being the company's first offices in the city. TheWrap spoke to 15 current or former Valnet contractors in 2025 regarding alleged exploitative working conditions at the company; one freelancer had also recently filed a lawsuit against the company for exploitation. TheWrap's article led to Valnet and Hassan Youssef filing a lawsuit in April 2025 against the website's company The Wrap News Inc. for libel. On May 1, 2025, Valnet acquired Polygon from Vox Media; the site was subsequently hit with mass layoffs. In June, it acquired military.com, and despite the website being profitable, laid off staffers, and stopped publishing in-depth news coverage. Subsidiaries Collider is an online entertainment publication, with a focus on the film industry and television series. Collider focuses on entertainment news, analysis, and commentary, along with original features, complementary film and television reviews, editorials, and interviews. Collider was founded in 2005 by editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub as a blog. In 2015, Weintraub sold Collider to Complex Media, who would manage the business and advertisements on the website and offer editing support. On November 17, 2020, Valnet announced that it had acquired Collider. CBR, formerly Comic Book Resources, is a news website covering movies, television, anime, video games and comic book–related news and discussion. Comic Book Resources (CBR) was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland created to discuss DC Comics' then-new mini-series of the same name. CBR has featured columns by industry professionals such as Robert Kirkman, Gail Simone, and Mark Millar. Other columns were published by comic book historians and critics such as George Khoury and Timothy Callahan. By April 4, 2016, CBR was sold to Valnet, after which the site was relaunched as CBR.com on August 23, 2016, with the blogs integrated into the site. Popverse reported that following the acquisition by Valnet "comics were increasingly sidelined for coverage [...], as were both reviews and columns as focuses for publishing; instead, the site refocused on shorter news pieces and reactions to news stories". Valnet Inc. is a subsidiary of Valsef Group, which is also headquartered in Montreal. How-To Geek is a technology website founded in 2006 by Lowell Heddings. It was acquired by Valnet in 2023. MovieWeb is an entertainment news website and video brand that reports on entertainment news through its website. The site also maintains a searchable database of films. MovieWeb first launched in 1995; by 1997 it was reported to be in operation supported by a 4-person team publishing movie information that, while not 'slick', had a 'certain charm'.[self-published source?][unreliable source] In 2012, MovieWeb produced a video which was an '80s-themed parody mashup of The Walking Dead series accompanied by music from Growing Pains that went viral. Previously, MovieWeb was owned by WatchR Media, Inc., a privately held Las Vegas company.[self-published source?][unreliable source] In 2021, it was estimated the MovieWeb website had 8 million unique visits for the month of July. MovieWeb has been owned and operated by online publisher Valnet Inc. since September 2021 upon completion of the acquisition from WatchR.[unreliable source] In August 2000, MovieWeb announced a collaboration with video rental chain Video Update and video retail software provider Unique Business Systems Inc.[unreliable source] MovieWeb acts as a distribution partner of Hulu.[clarification needed] MovieWeb also produces video content for IMDb.com.[unreliable source] GiveMeSport is a sports publishing website founded in 2014 in the United Kingdom. It was acquired by Valnet in 2022 as part of the acquisition of the digital sports publishing network SN&CK Media Ltd. OpenCritic is a review aggregation website for video games. OpenCritic lists reviews from critics across multiple video game publications for the games listed on the site. The website then generates a numeric score by averaging all of the numeric reviews. Several other metrics are also available, such as the percentage of critics that recommend the game and its relative ranking across all games on OpenCritic. OpenCritic was launched in 2015 to avoid some of the controversies that Metacritic has gained in the video game industry. A game's Metacritic score has become strongly attached to the financial performance of a game and subsequent efforts of the development studio and publisher, such as affecting post-release studio bonuses. However, Metacritic provides limited details of how it calculates its review scores, and uses weighted averaging that favors some publications over others, leading many to criticize the heavy weight that the industry puts on the site. Valnet's acquisition of OpenCritic was announced on July 31, 2024. Screen Rant is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, Video games, and film theories. It was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. Screen Rant has expanded its coverage with red-carpet events in Los Angeles, New York Film Festivals and San Diego Comic-Con panels. The associated YouTube channel was created on August 19, 2008, and has 8.62M subscribers and 5.4K videos as of June 21, 2023. Its sister website, Game Rant, dedicated to coverage of video games, launched in 2009. In February 2015, Screen Rant was acquired by Valnet, and was reunited with its sister site, Game Rant, in 2019, when Valnet acquired the other publication. Screen Rant features a video series called Pitch Meetings by YouTube comedian Ryan George. By September 2020, the series included over 200 videos, garnering a combined 250 million views. In the series, George plays both a screenwriter and a film producer in a pitch for a film or television series, describing its plot in a way that highlights various inconsistencies and the way monetary incentives affect the movie industry. XDA (formerly known as XDA Developers) is a mobile software development community launched on December 20, 2002. Although discussion primarily revolves around the Android operating system, members also talk about other operating systems and mobile software development topics. XDA-Developers.com was created by Dutch company NAH6 Crypto Products BV and launched on December 20, 2002. In January 2011, XDA Developers was bought by the US based company JB Online Media, LLC. and subsequently by Canada-based Valnet Inc. in February 2022. The name XDA Developers is originally derived from the O2 Xda, which was marketed as a personal digital assistant (PDA) with extra features. In 2013, XDA partnered with Swappa to become its official marketplace where users can buy or sell devices. Valnet acquired XDA along with four other websites—Pocketnow, AppAdvice, BackyardBoss and Hook&Bullet—from Busy Pixel Media in February 2022. In 2023, FeedSpot listed XDA (with 11 million members) as the largest mobile software development forum and among the top 70 technology forums to follow. Many software and hardware hacks, Android rooting methods, Android custom ROMs and other phone- and tablet-specific tweaks originate from the members of the XDA Forum. XDA also hosts the XDA Portal, a source for tech news, products, guides, and features which launched in 2010. Their forum site underwent major redesigns in 2010, 2013, late 2014 (named XDA 2015) and late 2020 (named XDA 2021). The 2013 layout distinctively indicated the number of active and total registered users at the top right, and the 2015 layout supported responsive web design and was available with a dark-on-light color scheme option. As of 2020, the website features 3 themes, namely XDA, XDA Dark and XDA Classic. The older layout options for XDA 2013 and XDA 2015 were removed in XDA 2021. The website transitioned from vBulletin to XenForo on December 1, 2020, along with a major layout redesign, named XDA 2021. In February 2007, when the Microsoft Windows Mobile OS was widely used on mobile phones, Microsoft asked XDA Developers to remove all ROMs created by OEMs. In 2008, CNET Asia suggested that XDA Developers offers potential solutions to problems with many Android-based mobile devices. In other mobile phone reviews, testers at CNET preferred using XDA Developers' ROMs when carrying out detailed reviews. TheGamer was launched in 2017 as an original video game news website by Valnet themselves, rather than being purchased from an outside organisation. In 2025, the publication was subject to mass layoffs, including the entire features team. Polygon is an American entertainment website created by Vox Media covering video games, movies, television, and other popular culture. At its October 2012 launch as Vox Media's third property, Polygon sought to distinguish itself by focusing on the stories of the people behind video games and long-form magazine-style feature articles. The site was built over the course of ten months by eight co-founding editors which included the editors-in-chief of the gaming sites Joystiq, Kotaku and The Escapist. Vox Media produced a documentary series on the founding of the site. In May 2025, Polygon was sold to Valnet, which was followed by mass layoffs. Military.com is a website that provides news and information about the United States military, service members, veterans, and their families as well as foreign policy and broader national security issues. It was founded by Christopher Michel in 1999 and went live in 2000. Its advisory board originally included two former members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as other academic and business leaders. In 2004, Military.com was acquired by Monster Worldwide in 2004 for around $39.5 million. It was acquired by Valnet in 2025, which was followed by mass layoffs. Reception According to TheWrap, previous and current Valnet employees claim the company prioritizes "mass quantity over quality to churn out mind-numbing SEO bait." Once websites are acquired by Valnet, the permanent staff are usually replaced by contractors, who are paid significantly less (reportedly around $19 for 1000 words at GameRant) than the former tenured staff. One former contributor described Valnet website Collider to TheWrap as "a content mill, borderline like almost sweatshop-level", while another writer suggested that Valnet forced contractors to create "junky clickbait" content. Valnet writers who complain about payment or working conditions or reveal payment rates are alleged to be blacklisted by the company. See also References External links |
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[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Minecraft_Movie#cite_ref-NUM_8-0] | [TOKENS: 6034] |
Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Minecraft_Movie#cite_ref-BOM_9-1] | [TOKENS: 6034] |
Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Minecraft_Movie#cite_ref-13] | [TOKENS: 6034] |
Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Minecraft_Movie#cite_ref-14] | [TOKENS: 6034] |
Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents GameSpot GameSpot is an American video gaming website that provides coverage of video games and entertainment, including news, reviews, previews, trailers, walkthroughs, guides, downloads, and community forums. Launched on May 1, 1996, by founders Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein under SpotMedia Communications, it initially focused on personal computer games before expanding to console titles via a sister site, VideoGameSpot. The site has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. In 2004, GameSpot won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second Video Game Award Show, and has won Webby Awards several times. The domain GameSpot.com attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by October 2008 according to a Compete.com study. History GameSpot was founded on May 1, 1996, by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein under their newly established company, SpotMedia Communications. SpotMedia had been formed months earlier in January 1996, after the founders left their roles at IDG to pursue an online platform focused on gaming content. The site's initial launch emphasized news, previews, and reviews primarily for personal computer games. To broaden its scope, SpotMedia launched a companion site, VideoGameSpot, on December 1, 1996, dedicated to console and arcade titles. On January 6, 1997, SpotMedia announced a partnership with Ziff Davis, valued at $20 million, which would integrate content from Ziff Davis publications such as Computer Gaming World and Electronic Gaming Monthly. By the following month, Ziff Davis's substantial financial infusion enabled GameSpot to grow to 45 employees. Eventually VideoGameSpot, then renamed VideoGames.com, was merged into GameSpot. Upon the May 11, 1998 launch of Ziff Davis's cable channel ZDTV, a program by GameSpot was projected for a mid-summer release, and would premiere as GameSpot TV on July 4. In February 1999, PC Magazine named GameSpot one of the hundred best websites, alongside competitors IGN and CNET Gamecenter. Following the acquisition of ZDNet by CNET Networks, announced on July 19, 2000, for approximately $1.6 billion in stock, GameSpot came under the ownership of CNET. That December, The New York Times declared GameSpot and Gamecenter the "Time and Newsweek of gaming sites". In February 2001, GameSpot was spared from a redundancy reduction effort by CNET which shuttered Gamecenter. In October 2005, GameSpot adopted a new design similar to that of TV.com, now considered a sister site to GameSpot. GameSpot ran a few different paid subscriptions from 2006 to 2013, but is no longer running those. In June 2008, GameSpot's parent company CNET was acquired by CBS Corporation, and GameSpot along with CNET's other online assets were managed by the CBS Interactive division. CNET was sold to Red Ventures in October 2020. Two years later, Fandom acquired GameSpot, along with Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs, Giant Bomb, Cord Cutters News, and Comic Vine from Red Ventures. In January 2023, 40-50 employees were affected by a round of layoffs. More layoffs at GameSpot took place in January 2024. GameSpot UK (United Kingdom) was started in October 1997 and operated until mid-2002, offering content that was oriented for the British market that often differed from that of the U.S. site. During this period, GameSpot UK won the 1999 PPAi (Periodical Publishers Association interactive) award for best website, and was short listed in 2001. PC Gaming World was considered a "sister print magazine" and some content appeared on both GameSpot UK and PC Gaming World. Following the purchase of ZDNet by CNET, GameSpot UK was merged with the main US site. On April 24, 2006, GameSpot UK was relaunched. In a similar fashion, GameSpot AU (Australia) existed on a local scale in the late 1990s with Australian-produced reviews. It ceased in 2003. When a local version of the main CNET portal, CNET.com.au was launched in 2003, GameSpot AU content was folded into CNET.com.au. The site was fully re-launched in mid-2006, with a specialized forum, local reviews, special features, local pricings in Australian dollars, Australian release dates, and more local news.[citation needed] Jeff Gerstmann, editorial director of the site, was fired on November 28, 2007, as a result of pressure from Eidos Interactive, a major advertiser; Eidos objected to the 6/10 review that Gerstmann had given Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, a game they were heavily advertising on GameSpot at the time. Both GameSpot and parent company CNET initially stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review. However, in March 2012, the non-disclosure agreement that forced Gerstmann to withhold the details of his termination was nullified. Not long after, Giant Bomb (a site Gerstmann founded after leaving GameSpot) was being purchased by the same parent company as GameSpot, and that they moved their headquarters into the same building. As part of this announcement, Gerstmann revealed that the firing was indeed related to threats of Eidos pulling advertising revenue away from GameSpot as a result of Gerstmann's poor review score, which was confirmed by GameSpot's Jon Davison. Operations and features GameSpot employs a 1-10 scoring system for reviews, which evolved from a categorical breakdown—where aspects such as graphics and audio received individual scores—to a unified overall score introduced in 2007 with half-point increments for finer granularity. By 2013, the scale shifted to integer values only, categorizing scores as Masterpiece (10), Superb (9), Great (8), Good (7), Fair (6), Mediocre (5), Poor (4), Bad (3), Terrible (2), or Abysmal (1). Notable staff See also References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents Deadline Hollywood Deadline Hollywood, commonly known as Deadline and also referred to as Deadline.com, is an online news site founded as the news blog Deadline Hollywood Daily by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is focused on Hollywood and new trends in the entertainment industry. It has been a brand of Penske Media Corporation since 2009. History Deadline was founded by Nikki Finke, who began writing an LA Weekly column series called Deadline Hollywood in June 2002. She began the Deadline Hollywood Daily (DHD) blog in March 2006 as an online version of her column. She officially launched it as an entertainment trade website in 2006. The site became one of Hollywood's most followed websites by 2009. In 2009, Finke sold Deadline to Penske Media Corporation (then Mail.com Media) for a low-seven-figure sum. She was also given a five-year-plus employment contract reported by the Los Angeles Times as "millions of dollars", as well as part of the site's revenue. In September 2009, the URL was changed to deadline.com and the site's name became Deadline Hollywood. The publication expanded to New York in 2010 with the hiring of Variety reporter Mike Fleming Jr. as its New York editor, Financial Times editor Tim Adler to lead Deadline London, and Nellie Andreeva for the site's television coverage as "co-editors-in-chief, TV". Finke remained the editor of Deadline Hollywood until November 2013, when she left after a year-long disagreement between herself and Penske, which had bought Variety, a competing trade magazine and website. References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high-tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $25 million. Following the 2015 acquisition of AOL and Yahoo! by Verizon, the site was owned by Verizon Media from 2015 through 2021. In 2021, Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo!, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Apollo integrated them into a new entity called Yahoo! Inc. In addition to its news reporting, TechCrunch is also known for its annual Disrupt conference, a technology event hosted in several cities across the United States, Europe, and China. History TechCrunch was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $25 million. As of 2013,[update] TechCrunch was available in English, Chinese (managed by Chinese tech news company TechNode), and Japanese. TechCrunch France was folded into the main TechCrunch.com site in October 2012. Boundless (formerly Verizon Media Japan), the Japanese subsidiary of the TechCrunch's parent company, closed TechCrunch Japan in May 2022 according to its "global strategy". Following the acquisition of AOL and Yahoo by Verizon, TechCrunch was owned by Verizon Media from 2015 through 2021. In August 2020, the COO of TechCrunch, Ned Desmond, stepped down after eight years in the company. He announced that he would join the venture capital firm SOSV in December 2020 as a senior operating partner. His former role at TechCrunch was replaced by Matthew Panzarino, former editor-in-chief, and Joey Hinson, director of business operations. In 2021, Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and Apollo integrated them into a new entity called Yahoo! Inc. TechCrunch's monthly visitors in September 2024 were 12.12 million, according to data from SEMRush. In March 2025, Yahoo! Inc. sold TechCrunch to private equity firm Regent LP. A few months later Sifted reported the website shut down its European operations, which was later denied by TechCrunch Chairman and Publisher Michael Reinstein. Events Starting in New York City in 2010, TechCrunch hosts an annual tech conference, TechCrunch Disrupt, in several cities in the United States and Europe. The event brings entrepreneurs, investors and tech enthusiasts together to watch startups pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, participate in networking events, listen to keynote speeches and panel discussions. Startup Battlefield is a startup competition. Monetary awards are presented at the TechCrunch Disrupt conferences. Startup Battlefield has a reputation for launching some of the most successful companies in the tech industry. Notable startups that have been involved in the competition include Dropbox, Intuit Mint, Yammer, Parallel Health, and CrateDB. Former features From 2007 to 2015, TechCrunch operated Crunchbase, a website and online encyclopedia of information on startups, key people, funds, funding rounds, and events. In 2015, Crunchbase became a private entity and is no longer part of TechCrunch. From 2007 to 2017, TechCrunch sponsored the annual Crunchies award ceremony to award startups, internet, and technology innovations. At the first award ceremony in 2007, Facebook won the award for best startup. TechCrunch announced in 2017 that it would end the Crunchies. Controversies In 2011, the site's editors and writers were criticized for possible ethics violations. These included claims that Arrington's investments in certain firms that the site had covered created a conflict of interest. The controversy that ensued eventually led to Arrington's departure, and other writers, including Paul Carr and Sarah Lacy, moved to another technology investment media company. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2013, TechCrunch faced criticism for allowing a presentation of a mobile app called Titstare, created by two Australian developers. The app, which purportedly allowed users to share photos of men staring at women's breasts, was widely condemned as sexist and inappropriate. The incident drew negative media attention, including coverage from CNN and The Guardian, and prompted TechCrunch to issue a public apology and pledge stricter content review for future events. In popular culture In 2014, TechCrunch Disrupt was featured in an arc of the HBO series Silicon Valley. The characters' startup "Pied Piper" participates in a startup battle at TechCrunch Disrupt. References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Minecraft_Movie#cite_ref-Aug2018TW_30-1] | [TOKENS: 6034] |
Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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Contents A Minecraft Movie A Minecraft Movie is a 2025 fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed and published by Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess, from a screenplay Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, based on a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer, the film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge. It follows four misfits from the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, who are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of a "crafter" named Steve. Plans for a Minecraft film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop the project. Throughout development, the film shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects. A Minecraft Movie premiered in London on March 30, 2025, and was released in the United States and Sweden on April 4, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $961 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. The film has also been hailed as a Gen Z phenomenon. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2027. Plot Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world. Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings including the Orb and Crystal. Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage. While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin. When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house. Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve. Cast Amanda Billing portrays Natalie and Henry's mother in a photograph. Mark Wright portrays an HR person at Chuglass High School. YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who is one of the lead designers for Minecraft, makes a cameo appearance as a waiter who tends to Marlene and Nitwit. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to YouTuber Technoblade, who died in 2022. Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited vocal cameo in a post-credits scene as Alex, a woman living in Steve's house, with Alice May Connolly physically portraying Alex. Production Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a Minecraft-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop an official Minecraft film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December. By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original Minecraft game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date. In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script. Producer Roy Lee credited new leadership at Warner Brothers for pushing the film into production after so many years saying: "Toby Emmerich shut it down when he first started, and if he had never run Warner Bros., it would’ve been made years earlier. It was only after Pam [Abdy] and Mike [De Luca] started that they reignited the project and it got made." Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the Minecraft adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a story – it's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler. While adapting Minecraft into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit.: 2:00–2:29 Several YouTubers and members of the Minecraft community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props.: 2:00–2:29 When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on Minecraft, rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with Minecraft's nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled A Minecraft Movie, rather than The Minecraft Movie. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of Minecraft's characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in Minecraft. James Thomas served as the film's editor. While A Minecraft Movie is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were used throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor. Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. Jack Black, who previously collaborated with Hess on Nacho Libre in 2006, joined the cast in January 2024, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew. Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. A majority of the scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly, with additional production taking place at Helensville, Auckland Film Studios, and Settlers Country Manor. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer. Music Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the Minecraft soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence. The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw. Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Marketing The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters. A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter. Release A Minecraft Movie had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States and Sweden by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4.[c] The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, Wallpaper Themes for Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV, and Samsung Family Hub SpaceMax Smart Fridge Freezer offered by Samsung, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets. A Minecraft Movie was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24. It was released on HBO Max on June 20. Reception A Minecraft Movie grossed $424.1 million in the United States and Canada and $537.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $961.2 million. In the United States and Canada, A Minecraft Movie was released alongside Hell of a Summer, and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping Five Nights at Freddy's' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game. The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out Clash of the Titans. It also beat out Captain America: Brave New World to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Additionally, A Minecraft Movie earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind Jurassic World. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after The Lion King, Incredibles 2 and Beauty and the Beast. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing Nacho Libre), Danielle Brooks (surpassing The Angry Birds Movie) and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing American Pie 2). In its second weekend, A Minecraft Movie grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing Captain America: Brave New World as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In its third weekend, A Minecraft Movie, grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after Warner Bros.' new release Sinners grossed $48 million, in what was considered to be an upset; it was the first time one studio had two films gross more than $40 million over the same weekend since 2009. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 48% of 190 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars. Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not A Minecraft Movie was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter and Jesse Hassenger of IGN both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the Minecraft fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Stephen Thompson of NPR stated that "turning Minecraft into a movie presents a challenge, because the film has a lot of character development to catch up on. But, as The Lego Movie and Barbie have demonstrated, it's possible to get it spectacularly right". Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade. The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well. Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting Minecraft. Both Kevin Maher of The Times and David Fear of Rolling Stone likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the Minecraft brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent believed that the idea behind a live-action Minecraft adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit. The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly Generation Z American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Steve exclaims "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I… am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater at Provo Towne Centre in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to other Gen Z teenage boys from Australia and South Africa. Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up. Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the cinema chain Cineworld hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to cosplay and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by Vulture's Nicholas Quah. The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and The Room (2003), as well as the earlier "Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success. Sequel Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how Minecraft is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as Another Minecraft Movie. On October 9, a sequel was announced with a release date of July 23, 2027, with Hess returning to direct and Galletta returning to co-write the screenplay. Legendary Pictures will return to produce and provide funding. See also Notes References External links |
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