A Minecraft Movie Leapfrogs The Super Mario Bros. Movie With Biggest Domestic Box Office Debut in History for a Video Game Adaptation

A Minecraft Movie has enjoyed a record-breaking start at the box office, leapfrogging The Super Mario Bros. Movie to secure the biggest domestic debut in history for a video game adaptation.

The Xbox game adaptation starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black, the latter of whom also starred in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, smashed box office expectations with an enormous $157 million at North American theaters. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which for now remains the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, enjoyed $146 million domestically during its opening weekend in April 2023.

A Minecraft Movie added $144 million via the international box office for a global opening weekend total of $301 million. A Minecraft Movie reportedly cost $150 million to produce before global marketing costs, so it may already be profitable for Warner Bros.

A Minecraft Movie is of course based on Mojang's Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time. The Microsoft-owned sandbox remains one of the most popular video games in the world, and has movie tie-in DLC to capitalize on the film’s launch.

IGN’s A Minecraft Movie review returned a 6/10. We said: “Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess puts a surprisingly specific and funny comic spin on A Minecraft Movie’s kid-friendly adventure, especially in its less antic first half.”

If you’ve seen the film, be sure to check out IGN’s A Minecraft Movie Ending and Post-Credits Scene Explained With Director Jared Hess and Minecraft's Torfi Frans Ólafsson.

Meanwhile, Disney’s live-action Snow White looks set for disaster status after a disappointing opening weekend box office. It’s now up to $168.4 million globally ($77.5 million domestic and $90.9 million international), and with a reported $250 million production budget, a Mufasa: The Lion King-style sleeper hit comeback may be beyond it.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.