In my (almost) 30 years on this planet, I’ve seen more movies in theaters than I can count. We’re talking a figure in the thousands. And yet, I’ve only seen a crowd break into thunderous applause twice when the credits rolled.
The first was during an opening night screening of “Furious 7” in the wake of Paul Walker’s unexpected passing, and the second was last weekend following a raucous Friday evening screening of "A Minecraft Movie."
Considering I thought the movie was an overstimulating mess with patchy effects and some very annoying characters, I did not join the numerous family groups around me giving it a standing ovation.
And yet, while "A Minecraft Movie" currently ranks in the bottom five of my best/worst movies of 2025 list (yes, I keep an ongoing ranking every year), I still came away from my screening with a big smile on my face and thrilled to see my local multiplex packed with people.
As a passionate advocate for the big screen experience, I'm willing to put my feelings about the "Minecraft" movie aside and acknowledge that cinemas needed a mega-hit movie after a string of disappointing duds had some starting to question the longevity of Hollywood's current business model.
'A Minecraft Movie' is a box office hit
Like it, loathe it, or absolutely love it (like clearly all the little and big kids in my screening did), the “Minecraft” movie is unquestionably a massive hit. Deadline reports the movie made $163 million domestically in its opening weekend, eclipsing even the opening total of 2023’s juggernaut “Barbie.”
That's even more impressive when you consider that pre-release, it was tracking to earn around $65 million. It didn’t just blow expectations out of the water, "A Minecraft Movie" destroyed them with all the force of a pack of exploding Creepers.
Factor in its equally impressive international haul, and in less than a week, the flick has made $313 million at the global box office.
That ranks it as the second highest-grossing movie of 2025 so far (only behind "Captain America: Brave New World"). Just to reiterate, this movie has not even been in theaters for a full seven days yet. "A Minecraft Movie" looks like a lock to blitz past Cap’s $412 million total before the end of the week.
Oh, and it’s also a certified record-breaker. "Minecraft" now boasts the highest opening weekend (domestically) of any video game movie in history, beating out competition like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.”
Movie theaters needed a win this year
"A Minecraft Movie” doesn’t just represent an obscene amount of money being funneled into Warner Bros. coffers, it’s also a much-needed win for movie theaters in general. And it comes at a time when cinemas were begging for something to get audiences excited and through the doors.
Until now, 2025 had been a fairly atrocious year at the box office. “Snow White” and “Mickey 17” are costly flops; neither is expected to break into the black based on cinema returns alone (the former has also become an unwanted lightning rod for controversy and online mocking).
Even “Captain America: Brave New World,” the current highest-grossing movie of the year, is hardly a success story considering it represents a significant drop from the MCU’s heyday when even a C-tier superhero was capable of anchoring a billion-dollar grosser.
As mentioned, I visit my local cinema multiple times a week, and in recent months, it’s been impossible to ignore that attendance figures appear to be on a sharp decline. I’ve been in more than one screening already this year with so few attendees that I could count them all on a single hand.
“Minecraft” has given theaters a desperately needed shot in the arm, and I hope it’ll serve as a great reminder of the power of seeing movies on the big screen for many people who visit less often. While the movie may not be to my personal taste, I’m just happy to see cinemas so busy again.
However, it’s not all been sold-out matinees and novelty popcorn buckets. At least one cinema in Oxfordshire, England, has been forced to issue a stern warning after audience behavior becomes a little too raucous during the now fan-favorite “Chicken Jockey” scene, reports the BBC.
The theatrical experience really matters
Of course, I’m not a movie theater owner or a studio executive, so you might be wondering why I’m invested in “A Minecraft Movie’s” success.
In a world where more and more people default to “I’ll just wait until it arrives on streaming,” it’s more important than ever for theaters to have a dependable string of big-money makers, and “A Minecraft Movie” has come along right when the theatrical landscape looked bleak.
After all, I don’t even like the movie itself, so it’s not like my pleasure in its overperformance comes from a desire to see numerous sequels and television spin-offs (all of which appear pretty much inevitable now).
My pleasure in seeing the "Minecraft" movie overperform is because I believe the theatrical experience is valuable, and the big screen offers the very best way to watch pretty much any movie.
I put my money where my mouth is and watch dozens of movies in the cinema each year (last year I saw over 110), but passionate movie buffs like me can’t keep theaters afloat alone.
In order for cinemas to keep their doors open and for major studios to continue to invest in theatrical releases, blockbusters like "A Minecraft Movie" are essential. I’m under no delusion that its success will lead to a wave of originals hitting movie theaters in the months and years ahead, but it’ll help keep the lights on for cinemas, and for that, I must thank it.
In a world where more and more people default to “I’ll just wait until it arrives on streaming,” it’s more important than ever for theaters to have a dependable string of big-money makers, and “A Minecraft Movie” has come along right when the theatrical landscape looked bleak.
None of the above is to say I don’t also enjoy watching movies at home on one of the best streaming services. I appreciate the convenience factor that comes with streaming.
I also acknowledge that the increasing cost of going to the movies regularly simply isn’t viable for many people. Between increasingly expensive tickets (especially for premium formats like IMAX) and overpriced popcorn, a family can easily spend north of $100 just to see a single movie. That’s a hard sell when Netflix costs a third of that a month.
Nevertheless, even the best home entertainment setup cannot rival a (well-maintained) movie theater. Even as a lifelong cinephile, I still sometimes struggle to get fully absorbed in a flick when watching at home. The temptation to casually scroll my phone is all too real.
But when I catch the latest release in a movie theater, I’m transported into the movie and the outside world melts away for two hours. All my best movie-watching memories are from watching high-quality films in theaters.
That’s an experience I never want to give up, and I hope it is always available in some form, even if I’m forced to acknowledge that movie theaters are unlikely to regain the prominence they once had.
At-home entertainment has simply advanced too far, and the gap between a movie arriving in cinemas and being released on streaming has gone from months to weeks in many cases.
But if given the choice, I will always pick a cinema seat over my couch, and it’s not even a contest.
If the thought of sticky floors, marked-up snacks and crowds screaming “CHICKEN JOCKEY” at the screen is just too much to bear, we also have a guide to when we think "A Minecraft Movie" will be available to stream.
But I implore you to give your local movie theater some business in the near future. As the old saying goes, use it or you may just lose it.
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