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E-mail China.org.cn, April 8, 2025
"A Minecraft Movie," the live-action adaptation of the popular video game, topped China's box office with 105 million yuan ($14.34 million) during the Qingming Festival holiday. The film also achieved a record-breaking $163 million opening weekend in North America and $313 million globally.
A Chinese poster for "A Minecraft Movie." [Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures]
The film's performance made it the top performer during the holiday, marking the first movie to lead daily box office rankings for three consecutive days since the Spring Festival.
Directed by Jared Hess and starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black, "A Minecraft Movie" follows four misfits who are pulled through a portal into the blocky Overworld. To return home, they must master this cubic realm's rules while defending it from Malgosha, ruler of the hellish Nether dimension, alongside Steve, a skilled crafter.
The family-friendly movie, co-produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, has become the biggest North American debut of the year. It surpassed the $146.4 million three-day North American launch of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" from 2023, setting a new opening weekend record for video game adaptations. The film generated an additional $150 million from international markets, including China, bringing its global debut to $313 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
The success reflects the massive popularity of Minecraft, the sandbox game developed by Swedish studio Mojang in 2011 and acquired by Microsoft in 2014. With over 300 million copies sold and nearly 170 million monthly active players in 2024, it remains the best-selling video game of all time. The game has expanded to multiple platforms and spawned a broader franchise with several spin-off titles.
As part of the prelude events leading up to the 15th Beijing International Film Festival, an exhibition for "A Minecraft Movie," is hosted at Taikoo Li Sanlitun, a shopping complex in east Beijing. [Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures]
Films screened during China's traditional Qingming Festival holiday grossed a combined 378.33 million yuan, with "A Minecraft Movie" leading the pack, according to data from Maoyan, a major Chinese ticketing platform. Realist drama "We Girls," directed by veteran filmmaker Feng Xiaogang and chronicling the struggles of female ex-prisoners, took second place with 80 million yuan over the three-day holiday.
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