Warner Bros. is betting $150 million that ‘A Minecraft Movie’ will save the box office—by cashing in on a beloved IP

After an absolute flop of a Q1 at the box office (do y’all even remember that a Captain America movie came out in February?), A Minecraft Movie has Hollywood eyeing a huge opening weekend. The theatrical take on one of the most popular video games of all time opens today, and Warner Bros. is hoping for a $140 million opening weekend.

The film has received mixed reviews from critics, but the $150 million that Warner Bros. reportedly dumped into making it wasn’t to snag a “certified fresh” rating. With big names like Jack Black and Jason Momoa, A Minecraft Movie hopes to cash in on the beloved IP like several recent video game adaptations:

• The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has netted Paramount Pictures $1 billion following the release of the third film in January.
• Universal Pictures raked in $1.3 billion for The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023, making it the highest-grossing video game adaptation in history.

Will Minecraft be next? Box-office gurus think so. The film was Fandango’s best PG-rated advance ticket seller of the year. And its marketing department already has block-headed toys locked and loaded for McDonald’s customers.—MM

This report was written by Matty Merritt and was originally published by Morning Brew.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com