Minecraft

"Craft. Fight. Survive."

- Tagline

Minecraft (also known as Minecraft: The Movie) is a 2017 Swedish-American action-adventure CGI-animated 3D film produced by Mojang Studios and Vertigo Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures based on the video game and media franchise of the same name. It is directed by Peter Sollett and written by Jason Fuchs and was released on May 26, 2017 in the United States and June 1 internationally. It is the first installment in the Minecraft film series.

The film grossed $437.2 million in the box office worldwide and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-Ray and DVD on June 16. It is also available on Netflix and HBO Max video on demand streaming services. A sequel titled Minecraft 2.0 was announced in 2018 for release on March 4, 2020, however it faced delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the release was pushed back to May 22, 2021.

Plot
The film follows an adventurer named Steve who lives in a treehouse by a Plains village. He returns from his mineshaft after a mining spree, only to find that the village and his treehouse had been pillaged and destroyed, and the town was in ruins. All the villagers had perished but one, the weaponsmith, a good friend of Steve's. The village would face raids every few months, but never to this extent. The villager tells Steve they'd been viciously attacked overnight with few survivors, most of whom fled. Steve initially assumes the Pillagers, who would raid the village every few months, were the attackers and heads to their outpost.

Upon arrival, the Pillagers immediately ambush Steve. He holds them off and speaks with their leader, who denies any involvement in the attack, pointing out that it had only been two weeks since their last raid and that they couldn't have possible carried out a attack of such large scale. Confused and intrigued, he sets out on a quest to find out who destroyed the town and why.

Production
On February 25, 2014, Markus Persson revealed that Mojang was in talks with Warner Bros. to develop a Minecraft film to be produced by Roy Lee and Jill Messick. On October 8, 2014, Mojang COO Vu Bui stated that the movie was "in its early days of development", saying that it was a "large-budget" production, and also said that it might not be released until 2017. On October 16, 2014, Warner Bros hired Peter Sollett to direct and Jason Fuchs to write the film.

Box office
Minecraft opened theatrically in the United States on May 26, 2017 and internationally on June 1. The film grossed $178.7 million in the United States and Canada and $258.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $437.2 million against its budget of $150 million.

United States and Canada
Minecraft was released in the United States and Canada on May 26, 2017. The film was screened in 3,390 theaters in the states of America and provinces in Canada.

In North America, the film was projected to gross $30-40 million in its opening weekend. It made $5.9 million from Friday night previews. The film made over $63.5 million on its first day ($58.3 million with an additional $5.2 million in Saturday night previews), beating its projections. The week finished with $75.9 million, finishing at number one at the American and Canadian box offices.

Entering its 2nd weekend of the film's opening, the film was set with promotional tie-in's from McDonald's and Burger King, along with merchandising from Mattel, Hasbro, Inc. and Spin Master Entertainment. The film made $9.2 million from Friday night previews, and made $79.8 million on the first day of the 2nd week ($71.3 million and $8.5 million in Saturday night previews), beating its projections again. The second week finished with $112.4 million, again finishing at number one at the American and Canadian box offices.

The film's box office projections ended on September 3, and the film grossed $178.7 million in total from its projections.

Other territories
In other territories, the film was released on June 1, 6 days after the US release. The film was screened in 3,082 theaters in multiple territories outside of the United States and Canada.

The film's box office projections were estimated between $50-65 million.

In other territories, the film was released in seven markets on June 1, and grossed $12.5 million in its opening weekend. In its 2nd week of release, the film opened in 20 more markets, grossing $31.3 million. In the 3rd week of its release, the film opened in 29 more markets, grossing $41.6 million.

Throughout its theatrical run in other territories outside of the United States, the film's largest markets were the United Kingdom (£59.5 million | $72.1 million), Germany (€48.9 million | $51.1 million), Russia (₽2.34 billion | $45 million), China (¥222.4 million | $33.2 million), Ukraine (₴895.2 billion | $30.1 million) and South Korea (₩39.1 billion | $26 million).

The film's box office projections ended on September 3, with the film totaling $258.5 million in total from its projections.

Critical response
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported a rating of 42% based on 182 critics, with an average rating of 5.5 out of 10. Its critical consensus reads "As blocky and adventurous Minecraft can be, it doesn't improvise on action very well." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film an average grade of "B+" on its A+ to F scale.