Sebastian Hansen

''A Minecraft Movie'' is a 2025 American fantasy adventure comedy film based on the 2011 video game ''Minecraft'' by Mojang Studios. It was directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. The film stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, and Sebastian Hansen. In the film, four misfits are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world with the help of an "expert crafter" named Steve.

Plans for a ''Minecraft'' film adaptation originated in 2014, when game creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang was in talks with Warner Bros. Pictures to develop the project. Throughout its development, ''A Minecraft Movie'' shifted between several directors, producers, and story drafts. By 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, and Hess was hired as director with Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in April 2024. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain provided the film's visual effects.

''A Minecraft Movie'' had its world premiere at Empire, Leicester Square in London on March 30, 2025, and was theatrically released worldwide on April 4. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it was a box-office success, grossing $953 million worldwide against a budget of $150 million, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time. A sequel is in development.

Plot

Struggling doorknob salesman Steve breaks into a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. He discovers that when combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own paradise and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world.

Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings, including the Orb and Crystal.

Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the nearby potato chip factory. To avoid expulsion, he pays Garrett to pretend to be his uncle, who takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine. Natalie finds Henry missing and calls Dawn, who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage.

While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a wooden fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters; he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village; Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape, while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin.

When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl, which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house.

Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Crystal, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify. The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game ''Block City Battle Buddies''. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie begins teaching self-defense classes, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve.

Cast

* Jason Momoa as Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison, a video game store owner and former game champion
* Jack Black as Steve, a former doorknob salesman who has spent years living in the Overworld
* Sebastian Hansen as Henry, Natalie's creative younger brother
* Emma Myers as Natalie, Henry's caring older sister and legal guardian
* Danielle Brooks as Dawn, a real estate agent who runs a mobile petting zoo
* Jennifer Coolidge as Marlene, the vice principal of Henry's school
* Rachel House as the voice of Malgosha, the piglin ruler of the Nether
** Allan Henry serves as the physical actor of Malgosha
* Jemaine Clement as:
** Daryl, an auctioneer
** the voice of Bruce
* Jared Hess as the voice of General Chungus, a high-ranking piglin in Malgosha's army
* Matt Berry as the voice of Nitwit, a villager and Marlene's eventual romantic partner.
** Bret McKenzie serves as the physical actor of Nitwit

YouTubers DanTDM, Aphmau, Mumbo Jumbo, and LDShadowLady make cameos as auction attendees. Jens Bergensten, who serves as one of the lead designers for ''Minecraft'', makes a cameo appearance as a waiter. A pig wearing a crown appears as a tribute to the deceased YouTuber Technoblade. In a post-credit scene, Kate McKinnon makes an uncredited cameo as the voice of Alex, a woman who is living in Steve's house. Alice May Connolly serves as the physical actor of Alex.

Production

Background

Following a series of offers from Hollywood producers to create a ''Minecraft''-related television series and a crowdfunding campaign for a fan film that was shut down by ''Minecraft'' creator Markus "Notch" Persson, Persson revealed that Mojang Studios was in talks with Warner Bros. Pictures to develop an official ''Minecraft'' film in February 2014. Later in October, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was early in development, and would be a "large-budget" production. He also said that the film might not be released until at least 2018. Originally, Roy Lee and Jill Messick were set to produce the project. That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film, though he and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, left the project by December.

By July 2015, Warner Bros. hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. He said that he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget. Early production started in 2016, and an initial release date was announced for May 24, 2019. Jason Fuchs was set to write the script of the film, and Steve Carell was going to star as the voice of an unknown character. However, by late 2016, McElhenney's ''Minecraft'' film "slowly died on the vine", after studio executive Greg Silverman's departure from Warner Brothers in late 2016. Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time. By January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, which would feature an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, was posthumously credited as producer. The original vision Sollet had for the film involved "a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" as they set out on a quest to defeat the Ender Dragon, the final boss of the original ''Minecraft'' game. The film was later given a new release date of March 4, 2022. In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. was forced to adjust its release schedule, which included removing the ''Minecraft'' film from its planned release date.

In April 2022, production on the ''Minecraft'' film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, with Jared Hess now set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent), and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action. It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on ''Masterminds'' (2016), would rewrite the script.

Development

Hess' involvement in the film began after a separate project he was developing with Legendary never materialized, and he was involved by the studio to pitch a take for the ''Minecraft'' adaptation. He later stated that he enjoyed trying to "adapt something that doesn't have a storyit's an open sandbox game", and hoped to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie". The film's final writing credits went to Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, who wrote the film from a story by Allison Schroeder, Bowman, and Palmer. Off-screen Additional Literary Material credit was given to Hess, McElhenney, Fuchs, Megan Amram, Kevin Biegel, John Francis Daley, Dana Fox, Hannah Friedman, Jonathan Goldstein, Phil Augusta Jackson, Lauryn Kahn, Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Zak Penn, Simon Rich, Peter Sollett, Laura Steinel, Jon Spaihts, Oren Uziel, and Ben Wexler.

While adapting ''Minecraft'' into a film, the production crew aimed to make sure that the objects present in the film were faithful to the game, made up only of cubes. This included everything from trees to fruit. Several YouTubers and members of the ''Minecraft'' community were present during the production of the film, with YouTuber Mumbo Jumbo contributing towards designing some of the props. When writing and directing the film, the team opted to make a story based on ''Minecraft'', rather than making an official canon story, which they viewed as in-line with ''Minecraft'' nature as a sandbox game that lets players create their own stories. As such, the film was titled ''A Minecraft Movie'', rather than ''The Minecraft Movie''. This concept is also applied to the film's depiction of one of ''Minecraft'' characters, Steve, which the production crew described Jack Black's version as one of many Steves not meant to represent the "Steve" present in ''Minecraft''.

James Thomas served as the film's editor. While ''A Minecraft Movie'' is predominantly a live action film, it uses a heavy amount of CGI to simulate the terrain, animals, monsters, and other objects. Green-screens and in-studio lighting were also used extensively. 3D models were imported into Unreal Engine to create virtual environments of various sets, which were utilized throughout the production of the film. Visual effects for the film were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Wētā FX, and Digital Domain, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor.

Casting

Around the same time that Hess was announced to direct the film, it was also stated that Momoa would star in the film. In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast, while Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast in November, and Emma Myers joined the cast in December. In January 2024, Black joined the cast, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account. Originally, Berry was supposed to play Steve while Black was set to only appear as a cameo in the form of a talking pig, but due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, Berry had to vacate the role, with Black taking over the role of Steve. According to producer Torfi Frans Olafsson, Black's depiction of Steve was "specific to him". At the same time as Black's casting, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in then-undisclosed roles. YouTuber Valkyrae was originally set to appear in the film, but was removed after she openly accused Momoa of mistreating the cast and production crew.

Filming

Principal photography for the film began in January 2024 near Auckland, and concluded by April of that year. Scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho were filmed in Huntly. Originally, filming was going to begin in August 2023, but was delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Grant Major served as the production designer, and Enrique Chediak served as the cinematographer.

Music

Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors. Mothersbaugh incorporated "nods" to the music of the game by C418, and said that the score was meant to balance the "charm" of the characters with the action, while retaining a "depth and emotional resonance". From the ''Minecraft'' soundtrack, C418's title track plays during the opening credits, and his song "Dragon Fish" plays during a scene with pandas; Lena Raine's track "Pigstep" features during the "Nether's Got Talent" sequence.

The film includes several original songs performed by Black, including "I Feel Alive". It was written by Black, and features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, Jellyfish keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Mark Ronson on both rhythm guitar and bass. Brooks also provides backup vocals. The song was released as a single prior to the release of the film on March 20, 2025. Mothersbaugh's score, along with original songs by Benee, Dayglow, and Dirty Honey, was released digitally on March 28. The film also features an instrumental rendition of Depeche Mode's " Just Can't Get Enough" performed by Jamieson Shaw.

Another song in the film, "Steve's Lava Chicken", went viral online after the film's release and charted in several territories. The song became the shortest song to reach the Top 40 of the UK singles chart, and the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States.

Marketing

The film's first teaser trailer, set to the Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour", was released on September 4, 2024. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divided" or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, design, and live-action nature of the film. Andrew Webster of ''The Verge'' said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun". Tom Power of ''TechRadar'' could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares". Markus Persson, the creator of ''Minecraft'', praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in Wow this is a weird feeling." Various clips and images from the trailer, such as the designs of a bleating pink sheep and a white llama, and Jack Black saying "I... am Steve", were ridiculed by online commenters.

A second trailer, set to MGMT's "Time to Pretend", was released on November 19, to a more positive response from many viewers. A final trailer for the film was released on February 27, and a final teaser for the film was released on March 27. A few days before the film's release, a workprint version featuring incomplete visual effects and CGI, missing credits, and significant chroma key masking errors was leaked onto various piracy websites and spread on social media platforms such as Twitter.

Release

Theatrical

''A Minecraft Movie'' had its official premiere at the Leicester Square in London, England, on March 30, 2025, and was released theatrically in IMAX in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4. The release of the film coincided with Mojang's collaboration with various brands to create promotional products for the film, including action figures of the characters, "creeper green" vanilla milk from TruMoo, and special Happy Meals offered by McDonald's. The unusual nature of these products, such as the "uncanny" appearance of the Jack Black action figure, garnered both attention and some criticism, though the "Nether Flame Sauce" hot dipping sauce from the McDonald's promotion was lauded for its spice and suitability with Chicken McNuggets.

Home media

''A Minecraft Movie'' was released for digital download on May 13, 2025, and will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 24.

Reception

Box office

, ''A Minecraft Movie'' has grossed $424million in the United States and Canada, and $530million in other territories for a worldwide total of $954 million.

In the United States and Canada, ''A Minecraft Movie'' was released alongside '' Hell of a Summer'', and was initially projected to gross $65–70 million from 4,263 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $80 million. It made an estimated $10.6 million from Thursday night previews, topping ''Five Nights at Freddy's'' $10.3 million for best total by a video game adaptation, and increasing weekend projections to $80–100 million. After making $58 million on its first day (including previews), estimates were again revised to $135–150 million. It ended up debuting with $162.8 million domestically and $313 million globally on its opening weekend, surpassing ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'' domestically, which also featured Black, as the highest-grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a video game.

The film had the third-highest Warner Bros. opening weekend, behind ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' and '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'', as well as the company's highest April opening weekend, beating out ''Clash of the Titans''. It also beat out '' Captain America: Brave New World'' to achieve the biggest opening weekend of 2025 at the time. Plus, ''A Minecraft Movie'' earned the third-highest April opening weekend, trailing '' Avengers: Endgame'' and '' Avengers: Infinity War'', and was the second-highest for a Legendary production, only behind ''Jurassic World''. Overall, it would score the fourth-highest opening weekend for a PG-rated film, after ''The Lion King'', ''Incredibles 2'' and ''Beauty and the Beast''. The movie also marked the highest opening weekend for Jared Hess (surpassing ''Nacho Libre''), Danielle Brooks (surpassing ''The Angry Birds Movie'') and Jennifer Coolidge (surpassing ''American Pie 2'').

In its second weekend, ''A Minecraft Movie'' grossed $78.5 million. Within its first seven days of release, it became the first film of 2025 to reach the $200 million mark domestically, replacing ''Captain America: Brave New World'' as the market's highest-grossing film of the year. It also became the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game, surpassing ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3''. In its third weekend, ''A Minecraft Movie'', grossing $40.5 million, would drop to second place after being surpassed by ''Sinners'' in what was considered to be an upset.

Critical response

Audience reactions to the film were more positive in comparison to critics; filmgoers polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while 67% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film. Kids under the age of 12 gave the film an average rating of five out of five stars, while parents gave an average of four and a half out of five stars.

Critics were divided on the film's plot and whether or not ''A Minecraft Movie'' was a faithful adaptation of the game, as well as if it made sense to viewers unfamiliar with it. Lovia Gyarkye of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' and Jesse Hassenger of ''IGN'' both believed that the film's plot was confusing. Gyarkye felt that it struggled to maintain a balance between appeasing the ''Minecraft'' fandom and writing a film that made sense to a general audience, and Hassenger said that the film was "conceptually muddy" and "confusingly and erratically presented". Mark Kennedy of the ''Associated Press'' believed that the film would likely make no sense to a viewer unfamiliar with the source material, but still believed that it was a faithful adaptation. However, he did highlight the film's featuring of concepts not present within the game itself to enable plot progression. Contrarily, Liz Shannon Miller of ''Consequence'' believed that the plot was fully comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with the game. Some reviewers viewed the fan service present within the film positively, particularly highlighting the tribute to Technoblade.

The performances of the cast, particularly Black and Momoa, were praised, with many critics viewing them as helping alleviate or distract from problems present within the film's plot. Miller and Jordan Hoffman of ''Entertainment Weekly'' both felt that the story was not the main priority of the film and could be ignored in favor of the performance of the actors, the former believing that the film was mainly made with the intent of having fun. However, some viewed that the characters, despite the performances of their actors, were generally underdeveloped. The sub-plot involving Coolidge's character dating a villager, while viewed as generally unnecessary or relatively thin in terms of character development, was subject to some praise as well.

Some reviewers questioned the purpose or value of the film, with some viewing it as nothing more than a product with the intent of promoting ''Minecraft''. Both Kevin Maher of ''The Times'' and David Fear of ''Rolling Stone'' likened the film to a corporate cash-grab, viewing it as existing with the sole purpose of promoting the ''Minecraft'' brand and offering nothing else of value. Maher further viewed the film as lacking a level of versatility present in other video game adaptations, while Fear believed that the film was intentionally confusing so that it would stay in the minds of people longer, and therefore encourage them to purchase merchandise. While Clarisse Loughrey of ''The Independent'' believed that the idea behind a live-action ''Minecraft'' adaptation was fundamentally flawed and destroyed the spirit of the source material, she felt that the film had "genuine intent" and was not like other adaptations that she viewed as existing solely for the sake of profit.

"Chicken jockey" TikTok trend

The film has sparked boisterous reactions and disorderly conduct from viewers, particularly American and British adolescent boys, with some partaking in a viral Internet phenomenon on TikTok, alongside other social media platforms. Participants would often react enthusiastically to moments in the film that have been the subject of Internet memes, such as spontaneously erupting into loud cheers, jumping in excitement, dancing, or throwing popcorn when Black's character exclaims, "Chicken jockey!" Other viral lines include "Flint and steel!" and "I... am Steve", though neither approached the frenzy surrounding "Chicken jockey!" In one screening, viral videos emerged documenting audience members hoisting a live chicken after the quote and promptly ejected from the theater in Provo, Utah; another involved a group setting off fire extinguishers and smoke bombs, suffocating fellow theatergoers; while another led to a violent altercation in the parking lot outside the theater after adults asked four teenagers to quiet down. The trend has also spread to Australia and South Africa.

Reactions to the phenomenon have been mixed. Some audience members frowned upon the misconduct as "annoying and disruptive", while several theater chains posted warnings against unruly behavior. Police have also reportedly been called to restore order and eject offenders, including an instance where an employee was physically harmed, although no charges were filed. Hess defended some of these antics as harmless and amusing, further explaining that he and Black had conceived the scene because they "thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity". Black made a surprise appearance at a screening and warned fans not to throw popcorn. Writing for The Observer, Kate Maltby opined that audiences had crossed the line, pointing to the mess left for janitors to clean up.

Many observers noted that the trend was evolving into a distinct cultural phenomenon, particularly emphasizing the immersive and communal nature of the theater experience. Research psychologist Rachel Kowert commented, "While being quiet is generally the norm in traditional theater settings, it's important to recognize that different fan cultures come with their own expectations for how to engage." She added, "In this case, the energy surrounding the Minecraft movie reflects a deeply engaged fandom—one that is enthusiastic about sharing the experience in a communal setting." Others argued that the trend reflected youth culture rather than incivility, akin to concerts or sporting events. Warner Bros. released a special "Block Party Edition" of the film on May 2, 2025, in which fans were encouraged to "sing-along and meme-along" viral moments in the film; in the United Kingdom, the Cineworld theater chain hosted a similar event dubbed "Chicken jockey screenings" in which fans were encouraged to dress-up and make noises, a move praised for its ingenuity by ''Vulture'' Nicholas Quah.

The phenomenon has been compared to audience participation at screenings of ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and ''The Room'' (2003), as well as the earlier " Gentleminions" TikTok trend surrounding '' Minions: The Rise of Gru'' (2022) that similarly involved adolescent boys engaging in outlandish behavior. It has been cited as one of the factors for the film's box-office success.

Accolades

Sequel

Talks for a potential sequel to the film began a few days after the film's release. Hess has expressed interest in making a sequel, noting the world's use of infinite mods, characters, and biomes, outlining how ''Minecraft'' is virtually endless. He later stated that there were many ideas they had for the film that they were unable to use, but would likely be included as part of a sequel. On April 11, 2025, it was reported that a sequel is in early development. At the end of a behind the scenes interview, the VFX supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and the animation supervisor Kevin Estey both refer to the film's sequel as "Another Minecraft Movie".

See also

* List of films based on video games

Notes

References

External links

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2020s adventure comedy films
2020s American films
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Films directed by Jared Hess
Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films produced by Jason Momoa
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