A Minecraft Movie’s box office means few will be betting against A Minecraft Movie 2 and a Fortnite film going forward…
In a year of tepid box office returns, Warner Bros finally scored a huge hit this past weekend, as A Minecraft Movie overcame unenthusiastic reviews to soar past $300m in one weekend. Made on a budget of half that, and with the Easter holidays ahead, there’s a fair amount of headroom yet for the film. Don’t be surprised if its box office encroaches the $1bn mark.
Already, expect meetings to happen this week if they weren’t already too. It’s an absolute nailed-on certainty that Warner Bros will now pursue A Minecraft Movie 2. Given that it took around a decade to crack the first film, expect the second to be fast-tracked, although the studio has made no announcement on that as of yet.
But also, expect the subject of a Fortnite film to now move high up the agenda. It’s not as if it’s not been discussed before around Hollywood, and Epic Games moved quickly over the weekend to put out initial rumours that one was soon on the way.
However, it’s making a Disney investment in Epic Games look really rather smart. The company spent $1.5bn to get a slice of Epic at the start of 2024, with a press announcement at the time declaring that the two “will collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe that will further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences.”
It looked a way for Disney to get a good foothold back into the gaming market, and Fortnite has been awash with Disney characters of sorts over the last year or two. But also, even if Epic wanted a Fortnite movie, would Disney be the right home for it? The company’s hardly known for building movies based on brands it doesn’t outright own. A lot more questions than answers.
Still, little doubt that videogame catalogues are going to be explored again as Hollywood searches for more hits. Fortnite and Roblox seem to have the kind of numbers to fit the bill.
