Box Office Report for the Week of April 6

Say it with me, now…CHICKEN JOCKEY!

That’s right, whether you like it or not, Jared Hess‘ adaptation of Mojang’s Minecraft has now established itself as the highest-grossing domestic opening of the year so far, exceeding highly conservative industry projections and taking cinemas by storm. Many would argue that those projections had it all wrong since the Minecraft fanbase is grossly underestimated. Yet, the film’s advertisements were poorly received and frequently the subject of memes and constant mockery.

Once the review embargo was lifted last week, many critics expressed what the consensus generally thought the film looked like based on its trailers: bad. Yes, the Minecraft fanbase is huge. After all, it is the highest-grossing video game of all time. However, you can’t fault the industry for thinking the movie would do moderately well and snag a domestic opening of perhaps $50 million, with a global start of over $100 million. Given the fact that many tentpole productions bombed horrendously, such as Captain America: Brave New World, Mickey 17, and Snow White, conservative predictions are more than understandable.

And yet, against all odds, the film not only exceeded its projections but more than tripled that amount with a $157 million domestic opening and a $301 million global tally. That is not only the highest-grossing of the year so far but the biggest opening for a video game movie ever (yes, even topping Mario, which also starred Jack Black). I would not rule out the movie making $1 billion, even amidst the sea of terrible reviews the movie got. If you’ve seen some clips populated online of people reacting to the film, many are clapping ironically at it and repeating lines that Jack Black’s Steve says, such as the infamous Chicken Jockey or Flint and Steel. It’s almost as if we have a new The Room in front of our eyes. Audiences are fully aware it’s a bad movie, and yet they’re having the time of their lives watching it.

In some respects, this is the movie event Morbius wishes it was, with months of “anticipation” via memes actively turning into ticket sales. Of course, one can’t underestimate the Minecraft fanbase, which is one of the biggest global sensations in video game history, but that doesn’t explain why so many wanted to make A Minecraft Movie the moviegoing event of the year. Some think the film will precipitously drop in the following weeks, considering how bad it is, and that may be true. However, the next family film on the slate is Dean Fleischer-Camp‘s live-action remake of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, which will be released in May.

A Minecraft Movie has zero competition for the next few weeks, especially coming into the Easter holidays, where families will undoubtedly take their children to the cinema for the must-see moviegoing event of the year (so far). Riddle me this: What was one of the biggest commercial hits of that particular weekend just two years ago, irrespective of a cold reception from critics, and quickly made $1 billion in record time? I rest my case…

Here is the full list of the top ten films of the weekend:

1. A Minecraft Movie (Warner Bros): $157M – 4,263 theatres
2. A Working Man (Amazon MGM Studios): $7.2M (-53%) – 3,262 theatres
3. The Chosen: Last Supper – Part 2 (Fathom Events): $7.0M – 2,313 theatres
4. Snow White (Disney): $6.0M (-58%) – 3,750 theatres
5. The Woman in the Yard (Universal): $4.5M (-52%) – 2,845 theatres
6. Death of a Unicorn (A24): $2.6M (-52%) – 2,995 theatres
7. The Chosen: Last Supper – Part 1 (Fathom Events): $1.8M (-85%) – 1,592 theatres
8. Hell of a Summer (NEON): $1.7M – 1,255 theatres
9. The Friend (Bleecker Street): $1.6M (+2291%) – 1,237 theatres
10. Captain America: Brave New World (Disney): $1.3M (-52%) – 1,750 theatres

Source: Comscore