How can Hollywood studios like Disney get kids off YouTube or video games like Fortnite and Minecraft and into movie theaters?
The best answer so far this year seems obvious in hindsight: a movie about Minecraft itself.
Movie industry observers were caught off guard by how well “A Minecraft Movie” did this past weekend. The film from Warner Bros. and Legendary Studios opened to $313 million globally, including a $163 million showing in the US that more than doubled estimates.
Box-office analysts — who are adults — may not have fully realized what a sensation Minecraft is among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
“This was a wildly underrated movie, in terms of its potential box-office performance,” Paul Dergarabedian, a box-office analyst at Comscore, told Business Insider in an interview.
Everyone in Tinsel Town is surely taking notes about the film’s success, including executives at Hollywood titan Disney, which is full of famed franchises but has an uneven track record with video games.
Hollywood’s video game wars are ramping up
The spectacular start for “A Minecraft Movie” makes sense considering how video game fans have shown up at theaters, said David A. Gross of movie consultancy FranchiseRe.
“Video-game-based movies are not a secret,” Gross said, noting the hit movies based on Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Rampage, Uncharted, Angry Birds, and Pokémon.
Still, the Minecraft movie’s success is another head-turning moment for studio heads.
“Every studio executive is really looking at this right now and saying, ‘How can we amplify — or level up — our participation within the video-game adaptation category?'” Dergarabedian said. He added that “they’re mining the vaults — no pun intended — for whatever IP they may own or that they could acquire that’s in the video game realm.”
If video games surpass superheroes as the next movie mega-trend, it could reshape Hollywood.
Universal Studios could be a big winner since it has a strong relationship with Nintendo and has already scored big hits with the Super Mario blockbuster and “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” And while Warner Bros. still needs heroes as it reboots its DC Comics franchise with “Superman” this summer, its success with “A Minecraft Movie” will set up a potentially lucrative sequel.
Disney could have a secret weapon
Disney could suffer most in a shift away from superheroes, given its success with Marvel movies and spotty performance with video games.
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The Mouse House has been leaning heavily on sequels and remakes lately, with mixed results. This strategy gave Disney the three biggest movies of 2024, but the subpar performance of “Snow White” last month suggests the plan is far from foolproof.
Could it be time to hunt for some new blockbuster IP? If so, Disney may have an ace in the hole: its $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games, which is the company behind Fortnite.
A movie about Fortnite, one of the world’s most popular video games, could be a cash cow for Disney. If executed properly, such a film could perfectly strike the balance between familiarity — the backbone of Disney’s beloved franchises — and novelty since the film would be fresh for audiences.
Although Disney doesn’t appear to be actively doing much with its investment in Epic so far, it could end up being the IP breakthrough its film business needs.
