Critics slammed it, but A Minecraft Movie just broke a box office record

A Minecraft Movie smashed records over its opening weekend. The film saw the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie based on a video game.

By bringing in $157 million, A Minecraft Movie surpassed The Super Mario Bros. Movie for the top spot in history. Deadline shared the updated box office figures for A Minecraft Movie.

That figure is just for North America, however. A Minecraft Movie brought in an additional $144 million globally, bringing its total to $301 million.

A Minecraft Movie is also the fourth-largest film of 2025 already, though it is quite early in the year. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against summer blockbusters when the dust settles.

Video game movies used to bomb at the box office, but that has changed in recent years. The Sonic the Hedgehog movies and The Super Mario Bros. Movie both earned respectable amounts. I'd argue that video game movies have generally improved in quality as well.

A Minecraft Movie reviews

When initial reviews for A Minecraft Movie rolled in, things looked bad for the film. One critic said, "A Minecraft Movie is where that creativity goes to die."

After the first wave of reviews, A Minecraft Movie sat at 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Tomatometer, based on critic reviews, tells a different story than the audience score, which currently sits at 87%.

It's common to see critic and audience scores differ significantly. For example, Warcraft earned 29% on the Tomatometer but 76% on the Popcornmeter.

If you enjoyed A Minecraft Movie and want more from the franchise, the box office numbers are probably more important than review scores. Money talks, after all.

Minecraft marketing

A Minecraft Movie also seems to have received a boost at the box office thanks to a clever marketing campaign. At least in the UK, advertisements for A Minecraft Movie are everywhere.

In addition to the standard posters and commercials, A Minecraft Movie has well-placed partnerships with McDonald's and other companies.

I have a full review of the Nether flame sauce and the other Minecraft treats at McDonald's coming up, so make sure to check this space.