Minecraft Made a Lotta Money in Theaters This Weekend

After what’s been like a decade and several shifting creative teams, Warner Bros. has finally gotten its Minecraft movie out in theaters. With the trailers being what they were, no one was entirely sure how this one would do. As it turns out, it’s doing better than expected.

Per Hollywood Reporter, the Jared Hess-directed film made $157 million domestically and at time of writing, $301 million total in its opening weekend. Domestically, it performed well past previous analyst predictions and beat 2023’s Super Mario Bros. for the best start for a video game adaptation. (Mario, which opened on a Wednesday, made $146.4 million in its first three days.) Along with being the highest-grossing start for a video game movie, it has the second-biggest domestic launch since Deadpool & Wolverine’s $211 million last July.

Minecraft opened to mixed reviews, and a version of the film filled with unfinished CG went viral this weeend. Neither of those have diminished its reach, and it’s a hit with families and young players who grew up with the game. It doesn’t hurt that there’s not much other kid-friendly competition out right now save for Snow White—which, as of this weekend, has now made $168.4 million globally—and it seems audiences would rather see Jack Black and Jason Momoa make fools of themselves.

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For the rest of April, we’re looking at a bunch of adult-targeted movies like Drop and Warfare (both April 11), Sinners (April 18), and Until Dawn and Accountant 2 (April 25). There’s other family-friendly movies throughout the month like Legend of Ochi (April 18) and King of Kings (April 11), but that’s assuming the word of Steve doesn’t overwhelm everything else in its path.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.