Box office numbers are often unpredictable in a post-covid world as unexpected hits are just as common as surprise bombs - yet one recently released movie has shocked analysts with its success, with online virality likely at the heart.
Sometimes it doesn't take being good for people to tune in, as Netflix's all time most watched film has just a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and you can sometimes rely on brand recognition, existing star power, or a cool concept to pull you through.
Box office failures can be extremely difficult for studios to stomach in an age where budgets balloon into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and the recent release of Disney's live action Snow White remake only serves as a reminder of that.
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However, one of Hollywood's latest blockbusters has exceeded all expectations, marking a 'major over-performance' according to key movie experts and breaking records in the process.
As reported by CNN Business, 'A Minecraft Movie' - based off the mega-hit 2011 video game of the same name - has become an instant smash at the box office, earning $336 million in less than a week with a domestic opening weekend total of $162,753,003, as per Box Office Mojo.
This not only makes it the biggest opening weekend for a 2025 film so far, but also the largest opening for a video game movie ever - beating out rivals like Mario, Sonic, and Five Nights at Freddy's.
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While Minecraft's undisputed spot atop the best selling games of all time list will no doubt have helped convince many to make a trip to the cinema, early ticket projections were actually relatively poor, which analysts have put down to poor trailers.
However, memes surrounding the film - in particular a two-word phrase from Jack Black - have led to a dramatic uptick in theatergoers for A Minecraft Movie, making it an instant success despite a poor critical reception.
This isn't the first time that online and social media virality has led to an increase in box office numbers, as trends like 'Barbenheimer' and '#gentleminions' are on opposite ends of the scale when it comes to how serious audiences approached their respective films, but they got people to buy tickets regardless.
For A Minecraft Movie, audiences - particularly teens and young adults - are encouraging each other to cheer and throw food when Jack Black's character Steve shouts 'Chicken Jockey' during the film - a line that unexpectedly gained significant meme potential from the trailer.
"When a release catches fire like this, it generates its own momentum and you can set aside all projections," David A. Gross of FranchiseRe explains in relation to A Minecraft Movie's unexpected success.
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It is also pointed out that the timing of its release in conjunction with spring break gave it a major boost, as younger audiences had more free time to head to the cinema and enact the aforementioned chaos.
Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango, has outlined that both March and the first quarter of 2025 have been slow for cinema ticket sales, so the surprise boost of A Minecraft Movie has been more than welcome as we move into the summer movie season.