The cinematic Box Office has been struggling as of late. With major motion pictures like Snow White and Captain America: Brave New World failing to fill theaters, many Box Office analysts were unsure about how A Minecraft Movie would perform. Estimated to open with $60 million during its opening weekend in the U.S., the film instead drastically over-performed, pulling in an impressive $157 million. Its worldwide pull is even more remarkable, generating $313.5 million worldwide. A Minecraft Movie has captured the public’s imagination in a way that other 2025 releases have failed to do thus far, turning the theatrical circuit’s fortunes around.
Warner Bros.’s latest family-friendly offering is sure to keep younger viewers entertained. Based on the increasingly popular Minecraft games, A Minecraft Movie sees a bunch of kids and also the former video game champion Garrett Garrison transported into the world of Minecraft, where they embark on a quest to help the expert crafter Steve prevent the nefarious Malgosha from obtaining the Orb of Dominance. The film received a dismal Rotten Tomatoes rating of 48%, which is usually a strong indicator of a movie’s impending financial failure. However, A Minecraft Movie has defied expectations that the film would be an expensive loss for Warner Bros. Pictures, indicating that not only is there a strong appetite for a video game movie, but also that a movie’s poor critical reception can sometimes mean very little regarding its commercial success.
Bad Reviews Are Not Necessarily "Game Over"
A Minecraft Movie is proof that bad reviews are not necessarily «Game Over» for a movie’s cinematic debut. Before its April 4 release, critics had not been kind to Jack Black’s latest motion picture. Empire Magazine’s Dan Jolin, for instance, called A Minecraft Movie «a hyperactive hot-pink mess.» Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye slammed its script for failing to «spark the imagination.» This is a particularly damning critique of a franchise like Minecraft, which promotes creativity by encouraging its players to create their own world out of its signature virtual blocks. Audience reception has been much kinder, though. Currently, A Minecraft Movie’s Popcorn Meter stands at 88% positive, based on 5,000 verified ratings. Most of Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcorn Meter ratings will come from pre-existing fans of Minecraft, while critics who are hired to review the film may not have the same level of familiarity. Those who are already invested in the franchise appreciate the references and Easter Eggs to the video game contained within the movie, which is confirmed to feature popular characters like the Chicken Jockey and the Creepers.
Franchises such as Transformers and The Lion King have seen similar success, despite poor or lukewarm reviews from critics. The Transformers franchise has generated over $1.5 billion in the U.S. and Canada to date across eight movies. Its highest-grossing film, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, was torn apart by professional reviewers, scoring a dismal 19% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes. Its lowest-grossing movie, Transformers One, is one of the series’ best-reviewed films, being certified fresh at 89%, but failed to garner much of a reaction from Transformers fans, finishing its theatrical run with only $70,309,971 domestically and $129,408,392. Sometimes, audiences don’t want a film that’s technically well-made, but rather a movie that’s easy to watch without thinking too hard about the content that’s being consumed.
Among the most heavily criticized films in recent years is the 2019 live-action Lion King remake. It uses photorealistic CGI to tell the story of Simba’s journey toward becoming the titular King of the Pride Lands. While John Favreau’s live-action Jungle Book is beloved by both audiences and critics, The Lion King was much more divisive, scoring a 51% rotten score compared to The Jungle Book’s 94% fresh. This mattered very little to audiences, helping the film finish its theatrical run with $1.66 billion and become the highest-grossing Disney remake. Like with A Minecraft Movie, The Lion King utilizes the audience’s familiarity with the Lion King franchise to attract their interest. It stays incredibly faithful to the original Lion King tale, recreating key sequences from the 1994 original, like Mufasa’s death in the Wildebeest Gorgle and the iconic «Circle of Life» opening number. Translating the film into a photorealistic live-action setting also makes the film a spectacular watch, with some breathtaking CGI leaving audiences feeling as though they are watching a nature documentary.
Of course, bad reviews can still lead to a negative Box Office reception. One of the most notorious examples in recent years is Marvel Studios’ Eternals, which concerns a group of ancient celestial beings tasked with protecting the Earth against the monstrous Deviant creatures. During «The Infinity Saga,» the MCU was indomitable, posting several high-quality movies that captured the public’s interest. The Multiverse Saga has been less of a success, however, and Eternals was the first Marvel Studios film to receive a rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Its 47% score makes it the second-lowest MCU movie scored by the Tomatometer, behind only Ant-Man And The Wasp Quantumania. Audiences agreed with the critics’ assessment, with Eternals finishing its run with $164.87 million in America and $402.1 million worldwide. Eternals was not only a much harder sell for casual audiences, being less familiar characters, but it was also hampered by poor writing and direction, described by one audience member as «boring and insufferable.»
The Video Game Curse May Be Broken
Video game adaptions have a notoriously spotty track record in the Box Office. The live-action Super Mario Bros. only mustered $8.5 million in the USA and Canada, and $38,912,465 in total worldwide on a $48 million budget. This was particularly disappointing given that it was based on the most famous gaming mascot in Super Mario. Another gaming movie that performed poorly is Doom, which managed to achieve a Canada and United States gross of $28.2 million, and $58.7 million in total worldwide, on a $70 million budget. At the time, these terrible outcomes made the video game adaptation genre seem cursed, and a surefire way for a major movie studio to lose money.
Recent gaming adaptations have been more fortunate, however. While Borderlands’ $15.4 million in the United States and Canada and $30.9 million in total worldwide was disastrous, there have been several more major hits for production companies lately. The animated Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently the highest-grossing video game adaptation movie, finishing its Box Office run with $1.36 billion worldwide, while the Sonic The Hedgehog movie trilogy has grossed over a billion worldwide in total thus far. Five Nights At Freddy’s has achieved great numbers too, with its first movie ending its theatrical run with $297.2 million worldwide on a surprisingly small budget of $20 million.
Perhaps the reason for these movies’ success is how they focus on what audiences love about their respective franchises, rather than creating something that feels too different from the games. The live-action Super Mario Bros. Movie reimagines the Super Mario games as taking place within a gritty and grimy cyberpunk world, while Illumination Entertainment’s take on the games more accurately portrays the colorful whimsical charm of the Mushroom Kingdom. The live-action Sonic The Hedgehog movies recreate the fast-paced action and bombastic humor of the games, and Five Nights At Freddy’s captures the horror and suspense of being stalked by sentient animatronics inside a pizza restaurant. These films are not ashamed of their source material, and instead show a deep affection for it, leaving their fans feeling seen and appreciated.
A Minecraft Movie may not have received the greatest reviews, but its success is a testament to why other gaming adaptions have performed admirably in recent years. Through its references to Minecraft lore and incorporation of the game’s various creatures and personalities, it shows a deep understanding of the gaming series. Sometimes a film doesn’t need to be critically well-received to perform well, it just needs to find an audience who can identify with the movie’s screenplay, and who can relate to the world contained within the motion picture.
