There are no fail-safe formulas in Hollywood, but this one comes close:
Take an established yet underexploited (or musty) cultural property — preferably one that stirs strong feelings of nostalgia among young adults — and add stars playing to type, abundant visual effects and a savvy marketing campaign that makes core fans feel appreciated.
It’s difficult to pull off, but Legendary Entertainment has done it repeatedly. The most recent example came over the weekend with “A Minecraft Movie,” which was made in partnership with Warner Bros. The film sold an astounding $163 million in tickets in North America from Friday through Sunday, according to Warner Bros., which distributed the film in addition to co-producing it. (On Sunday, analysts had estimated $157 million for the weekend.)
Before release, citing advance ticket sales and surveys that track consumer interest, analysts had projected a domestic opening weekend of closer to $80 million. “It’s an absolute blast to see moviegoers around the world coming together to celebrate their love for Minecraft,” Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairs of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said in a statement.
“A Minecraft Movie,” a PG-rated comedic fantasy starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa and based on the 2009 block-building video game, also scored overseas, where it took in an additional $151 million.
The film cost $150 million to make, not including global marketing costs. Warner Bros. covered 75 percent of the budget. Legendary, which is independently owned, shouldered the balance. Reviews were mixed.
Hollywood in general, and Warner Bros. in particular, badly needed a hit. Box office revenue in the United States and Canada fell 11 percent in the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2024, in part because of major flops like “Snow White” (Disney) and “Mickey 17” (Warner Bros.). There were also other underperformers, including a pair of low-budget duds from the once-unstoppable Blumhouse horror studio.
Warner Bros. found a blockbuster in September with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” But its performance since then has been dismal, with a gangster movie championed by David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, flatlining last month. Several of the company’s coming films are seen as risks by some theater owners and Warner Bros. Discovery investors, including “Sinners,” a $90 million original, R-rated horror thriller set in the 1930s. It arrives on April 18.
Mr. Zaslav has informally met with candidates to replace Mr. De Luca and Ms. Abdy, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private process. The talks were earlier reported by Bloomberg.
Ms. Abdy and Mr. De Luca declined to comment on their job status. A spokesman for Warner Bros. Discovery said, “The rumor of an imminent leadership change at the studio is not accurate.”
Strong ticket sales for “A Minecraft Movie” could give the embattled executives some breathing room. Ms. Abdy and Mr. De Luca pushed the project into production and oversaw its completion. Warner Bros. also arranged for a major marketing partnership with McDonald’s that generated widespread conversation on TikTok, a platform that has become a crucial seat-filling tool for studios and theaters.
But credit for “A Minecraft Movie” also belongs to Legendary.
After struggling for years to come up with the right director, story, structure and tone, Warner Bros. brought on Legendary as a “Minecraft” partner in 2019. A clock was ticking: Microsoft, which owns Mojang, the company behind the game, was growing impatient. In addition to financing, Legendary offered producing prowess.
Mary Parent, Legendary’s vice chairman, ousted the film’s director, Peter Sollett, and helped recruit Jared Hess, known for instilling films like “Nacho Libre” and “Napoleon Dynamite” with awkward humor, as his replacement. Mr. Momoa (“Aquaman”) and the madcap Mr. Black (“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”) joined the cast.
“Mary and her team reimagined the take, brought on Jared and developed a movie that honors the fans while still being accessible for the general audience,” Josh Grode, Legendary’s chief executive, said in a statement. “This is a great win for Warner Bros., for Legendary and the theatrical box office.”
Roy Lee, a producer known for “The Lego Movie,” and Jesse Ehrman, Warner’s president of production, among others, also pushed the film to the finish line.
“A Minecraft Movie” is the third time that Legendary has turned challenging source material into broad-audience pay dirt. The company resuscitated King Kong in 2017, resulting in a trilogy that collected $1.6 billion worldwide. Legendary was also the force behind “Dune: Part One” (2021) and “Dune: Part Two” (2024), which took in $1.1 billion, a feat for films that rely on complex science-fiction lore. “Dune: Messiah” is scheduled for release next year.
Warner Bros. released and invested in the Kong movies (which also star Godzilla). Ditto the “Dune” franchise.
“A Minecraft Movie” adds to a boom in game-based films. Other successes include Universal’s animated “Super Mario Bros. Movie” and Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” from Blumhouse and Universal was a surprise sensation in 2023.
According to PostTrak, a research service, about 43 percent of ticket buyers for “A Minecraft Movie” were ages 18 to 24. Children ages 13 to 17 made up 35 percent.
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