‘A Minecraft Movie’ smashes box office expectations with $157 million opening weekend

Industry analysts had initially projected “A Minecraft Movie” would gross $60 million before adjusting that estimate to about $100 million.

The blockbuster adaption of the 2011 video game “Minecraft” shattered box office estimates, grossing $157 million domestically, and marking the biggest opening weekend of the year. Industry analysts initially projected Warner Bros. Pictures’ “A Minecraft Movie” would gross $60 million before adjusting that estimate to about $100 million. Warner Brothers Discovery is the parent company of CNN. “This is the first major over-performance,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told CNN. “A Minecraft Movie” surged past the opening weekend of Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World,” which had been the top opener of 2025 with an opening weekend of $88.5 million. “Pre-sales and interest accelerated in a remarkable way during the run-up to opening night,” Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, told CNN in an email. Robbins noted that many college students and teenagers were on spring break during the movie’s opening, which also helped some markets. Conservative box-office estimates for “A Minecraft Movie” were likely due to mixed reactions to trailers. But this video game adaptation appeals to broad audiences, not critics, according to box office analyst David A. Gross of FranchiseRe. “When a release catches fire like this, it generates its own momentum and you can set aside all projections,” Gross said.