Minecraft

Minecraft (also known as Minecraft: The Movie) is a 2017 computer-animated action-adventure fantasy comedy film directed by Peter Sollett, Jens Bergensten and Markus Persson (both in their feature directorial debuts, with the latter being uncredited). Produced by Roy Lee, Jill Messick, Agnes Larsson and Nathan Adams (both in their feature production debut) and written by Jason Fuchs based on a screenplay by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Based on the video game franchise of the same name by Mojang, it is the first film in the Minecraft film series. The film stars the voices of Jason Momoa, Pamela Adlon, Patton Oswalt, Vin Diesel, Catherine Taber, Grey DeLisle, Jennifer Hale, E. G. Daily, Ed Asner, Kelly Asbury, Leraldo Anzaldua, Lori Alan, Trey Parker, and Daniel Middleton.

The film follows Steve, a long-time adventurer in the Overworld who lives in a treehouse near a village. But after he returned from a lengthy mining spree, the village was pillaged and destroyed, leaving all but one villager perished, that villager being the Weaponsmith. Steve enlists the help of his close friend Alex, who lived nearby in a snowy area of the Overworld. They embark on a journey across the Overworld to meet the Mighty Ender Warrior, who defeated the Ender Dragon once before, but warned that a fierce Wither Storm was brewing in the End City.

The film was conceived in February 2014 when Markus Persson teased a cover page for the script of the film, indicating the film had entered production. It was later revealed by Warner Bros. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Tsujihara that Minecraft developers Agnes Larsson and Nathan Adams would be attached to the film as producers, alongside Roy Lee and Jill Messick. The film, an international co-production between Sweden, the United States and Australia, was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, Mojang Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment and Animal Logic, with the latter company providing animation services.

Premiering in Stockholm on May 12, 2017, Minecraft was released theatrically worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures on May 26, 2017, and in Australia and New Zealand on June 6, 2017 by Roadshow Entertainment. The film received mixed to positive reviews, with critics praising its animation, visual effects, voice cast (particularly Momoa, Adlon, Taber, Hale, Asner and Asbury), musical score by Michael Giacchino, songs by C418, and directorial by Jens Bergensten, though cirticized the plot, storyline and directorial by Peter Sollett, though fans of the game gave universal praise to the film for being faithful to the source material.

The film grossed $830.7 million worldwide on its budget of $150 million, making it the tenth-highest grossing film of 2017, behind Thor: Ragnarok, and the second-highest grossing animated film of 2017, behind Despicable Me 3. The film's success prompted the release of a sequel, Minecraft 2.0, which was released on May 21, 2021 to a more negative reception, and became a box office bomb.

Plot
TBA.

Voice cast

 * Jason Momoa as Steve
 * Casey Simpson as Steve (12 years old)
 * Freddie Highmore as Steve (25 years old)
 * Pamela Adlon as Alex
 * Patton Oswalt as the Weaponsmith, Prince Joseph and Jesse
 * Vin Diesel as the Pillage Leader
 * Catherine Taber as Martha
 * Grey DeLisle as Samantha
 * Jennifer Hale as Princess Maria
 * E. G. Daily as Christina
 * Ed Asner as the Mighty Ender Warrior and the Narrator
 * Kelly Asbury as Nether Fighter Robert
 * Leraldo Anzaldua as Emperor Michael
 * Lori Alan as the Wither Storm
 * Trey Parker as Herobrine
 * Daniel Middleton as the Mayor of the Overworld

Development
TBA.

Casting
TBA.

Animation and visual effects
The animation was handled at Australian animation studio Animal Logic.

Soundtrack
The film's music was composed by Swedish musician Daniel Rosenfeld, known as C418, while the film's musical score was composed by Michael Giacchino. Originally set to be composed by Heitor Pereira, the latter dropped from the project to score Despicable Me 3 with Pharrell Williams. The film's soundtrack album was released through WaterTower Music on May 26, 2017.

Release
Minecraft held its premiere in Stockholm, Sweden on May 12, 2017, before it was theatrically released worldwide on May 26, 2017 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was later released in Australia and New Zealand on June 6, 2017 by Roadshow Entertainment. The film was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for rude humor, mild language and violence.

Box office
Minecraft opened theatrically worldwide on May 26, 2017 and in Australia and New Zealand on June 12, 2017. The film grossed $358.6 million in the United States and Canada and $472.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $830.7 million against its budget of $150 million.

United States and Canada
Minecraft was released in the United States and Canada on May 26, 2017, alongside Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The film was screened in 3,390 theaters. The film was projected to gross $30-40 million in its first opening weekend. It made $63.5 million in its opening weekend, with an additional $5.9 million from Thursday night previews. Throughout the opening week, the film projected $94.1 million, beating its projections of $45-65 million and finishing at number three on the domestic box office charts.

Entering its second and third weekend, the film's marketing campaign was introduced with toys and exclusive merchandising for the film, which were heavily promoted by restaurant chains (e.g. McDonald's, Burger King), toy manufacturers (e.g. Hasbro, Spin Master and Mattel) and book publishers (e.g. Penguin Random House, Barnes & Noble). With the marketing campaign ongoing, the film made $53.6 million in its second opening weekend, grossing below its expectations of $55-60 million, while the film made $88.9 million in its third opening weekend, finishing second.

Other territories
TBA.

Critical response
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 65% based on 215 critics, with an average rating of 6.85/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A blocky adventure with the voices of talented actors, with great animation, Minecraft shows that, while having a thin plot, can still provide a well-crafted tale for any fan of the game to enjoy". On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on reviews from 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film an average grade "B+" on its scale of A+ to F.

Sequel
The financial success of the film spawned a sequel, Minecraft 2.0. Released on May 21, 2021 in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures and in Australia and New Zealand by Roadshow Entertainment, the film received negative reviews and was a box office disappointment, grossing $301.5 million against its budget of $210-245 million, with an estimated loss of $250-300 million in revenue. A third film was planned to be developed, though was scrapped due to the poor critical and commercial reception of the sequel.