'Minecraft Movie' Scores Biggest Videogame Movie Opening Ever, Faces Early Leaks Online

It was already the best-selling videogame of all time, notes the Hollywood Reporter. And A Minecraft Movie just had the biggest opening ever for a video game movie adaptation. WIth a production budget of $150 million, it earned in $157 million in just its first weekend in the U.S., with a worldwide total of $301 million.

A Warner Bros. executive called the movie "lightning in a bottle," while the head of co-producer Legendary Pictures acknowledged the game is a global phenomon, according to the article. (About the movie's performance, the executive "said the opening is a both a reflection of the mandate to celebrate the world of Minecraft in a joyful way, and the singular experience that only theatrical can offer."

But an unfinished version leaked online before the movie was even released, reports Variety Screenshots and footage from the fantasy adventure were being shared widely on social media platforms this week, and were also available on file sharing sites. The images and scenes have uncompleted visual effects. Most of the footage was quickly taken down by the rights holders. Although pirated footage is a common problem for major film releases, it's rare to have a working print leak online in this way, raising questions about how such an early version of the movie was accessed, stolen and then shared.

I'm sure i'll listen to about half

[zendarva]

of the sound track on netflix or some other streaming platform when i'm desperate for some media to play on the third monitor while i code.

Re:

[zendarva]

Thanks for the peek into your soul. Unfortunately, there didn't actually appear to be any content inside it.

Next time, maybe keep it to yourself. :)

It is good

[sodul]

The movie does not take itself seriously, especially Jason Momoa, and I enjoyed it. The special effects in the real world were meh, especially the potato chip incident, but the ones in the Minecraft world were good.

I only went to see because my son wanted to see it with his friend, but I had a good time.

Re:

[AvitarX]

I've never played Minecraft, but was familia with it.

I thought they did an excellent job of explaining the world through entertaining exposition and thoroughly enjoyed the first 3/4 of it. They kept me amused and the characters were fun.

I found the climax quite meh, but that's often the case with movies. At times it felt aggressively like a Minecraft ad too, but c'est la vie.

I definitely don't think parent forced to bring children will be miserable, it was a better than average movie when it comes to entert

I've never understood this need..

[sarren1901]

to see alpha versions of a product. Sounds like what was leaked wasn't up to production quality and even so, why ruin the fun of waiting to see the finished experience? It's like peaking at your Christmas presents before you get them but then come Christmas Day it is not nearly as fun as if you did know. You rob yourself of the experience by doing these things.

Re:

[quonset]

You know what they say about men who claim to be "alpha": unstable, missing important features, filled with flaws, and not fit for the public.

Re:

[skam240]

Pretty much every major Hollywood release gets a pirated release filmed on a camera while it is in the theater. I have no idea who would ever want to watch such a poor quality release as that when one could just wait two months for a proper one that doesn't look like ass but clearly there's demand for such things.

Re:

[thegarbz]

This isn't that. Many people are perfectly happy with low quality, but the "leak" was an unfinished one. That comes occasionally from movies. e.g. I remember seeing a Hulk movie released (whatever the one with Edward Norton was called), and you could barely tell it was a leaked pre-release movie. ... Right until you got to some scenes with the Hulk which weren't actually rendered, i.e. they had the pre-production storyboarding scenes in place with a low-poly model of Hulk flipping a tank rather than the gra

Re:

[twocows]

Presumably because it's free and can be viewed from home. I don't understand what you aren't understanding.

WB

[thecombatwombat]

It's wild how a few years ago everything said Disney controlled all of movies now and would never lose their grip. Then Barbie happened, then Minecraft, and next up the new Superman looks like it will destroy all the superhero movies trying to compete with it.

Seemed impossible ten years ago.

Re:

[viperidaenz]

Disney ran out of franchises to buy

Re: WB

[fenrif]

Barbie didn't happen in a vacuum. Disney thought it being top dog meant it would be forever and so went all in on toxic divisive and demoralizing propaganda. Anti-family, anti-feminine, anti-masculine, and anti-white communist propaganda. And that turned everyone off. Now people will flock to very mediocre films simply for being films first and not thinly veiled political screeds.

Re:

[skam240]

Everything has to be about the dumb shit culture war...

Hollywood has always been political, it's just that no one cares when it's done well.

Re:

[thegarbz]

There are over 1000 movies released every year in the USA alone. Disney controls a tiny minority of the market. Please stop watching ads during kids television programs and actually go to a cinema to see what is being released. The world (including your world) is full of excellent films and cinema, you thinking there's some kind of a culture war that has ruined cinema going on is your fault alone, not Disney's.

Re:

[AvitarX]

Barbie was lightning rod for being too woke too.

The problem with Disney is that they are making movies on a schedule checking off boxes rather than making movies that are good.

The checking off boxes certainly includes diversity, but also the movies are just hollow paint by numbers in general.

They were putting out more Star Wars content than there was an appetite for. Releasing Marvel movies on a schedule with no concern for quality. Making live action remakes that are pretty much just cash grabs.

They lost t

Saw it fun..but stupid

[Danathar]

Great fun for your kids and neat cgi especially in 3d.

That being said there will be be no Academy award for best or supporting actor thatâ(TM)s for sure.

Remember the reaction to the trailer?

[GrumpySteen]

I certainly do. A lot of knee-jerk "it's horrible" and "it's not Minecraft" and "I'll never watch this."

Let's all take a moment to laugh at those reactionary jerks and let them know that they are not the arbiters of what everyone will like.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Just because it's horrible doesn't mean people won't watch it. Marvel movies are a good example of this.

Re:

[thegarbz]

I certainly do. A lot of knee-jerk "it's horrible" and "it's not Minecraft" and "I'll never watch this."

Let's all take a moment to laugh at those reactionary jerks and let them know that they are not the arbiters of what everyone will like.

I don't understand what you're saying. None of the knee-jerk in any way is in conflict with your assertion that people were being arbiters of what everyone will like. You want to watch it, go ahead. I think it's horrible, it objectively isn't Minecraft, and while I may watch it at some point I sure as heck won't pay specifically for it.

One of my friends likes his wife tying him up and then repeatedly kicking him in the balls while he moans through a ballgag, his enjoyment of that is in no way in conflict wi

Beats the heck out of me...I won't be seeing it.

[Maxo-Texas]

At a minimum, I'm going to wait until youtube reviewers who paid for their own tickets review it.

But frankly, I've been playing for over a decade... this does not look like something I want to spend my precious time and money on. And my grandkids (who play) don't seem to be interested either.

oh no,

[Tablizer]

cue the endless blockbuster puns.