Is "Minecraft" the movie to turn the American movie box office around?

Even though five new movies got nationwide releases this weekend, the box office came in at $52 million. That's $2 million less than Super Bowl weekend, which is traditionally one of the worst weekends of the year for the ol' domestic box office. "Black Bag," a Steven Soderbergh movie that has gotten great reviews, landed at third with $7.5 million. "The Day the Earth Blew Up," which is the first fully-animated, feature-length "Looney Tunes" movie, managed a mere $3.2 million and came in at fifth. 

The bleakest of the box-office news, though, comes to us through "Mickey 17." Bong Joon-ho's follow-up to "Parasite" winning Best Picture finished second, but at $7.6 million. That's a 60-percent drop-off from what was already a lackluster debut weekend. Bong and Robert Pattinson seem primed for dual career setbacks after producers effectively lit $118 million on fire for this one (even though it is a good, if strange, movie).

The 2025 box office is five-percent behind 2024 year-to-date, and 2025 has enjoyed the benefit of a Marvel movie arriving early in the year. We didn't really get a "Dumpuary" sensation wherein a movie dumped into theaters proved unexpectedly successful by rising to the top of the heap. Within the next month, there are two tentpole films set to be released, and both will really need to hit to get the ball rolling. One comes from Disney's assembly line of "What if one of our beloved animated movies, but live-action?" in "Snow White." While it will swiftly outgross every 2025 film aside from "Captain America: Brave New World" (and will likely overtake that one eventually), the promotional run-up has featured a level of toxicity on par with, say, a poisoned apple.

Somehow, the domestic box office is pinning its hopes on righting the ship heading into summer on the shoulders of this movie:

Yes, a movie "about" the game "Minecraft" featuring Jason Momoa doing...whatever it is he's doing, will need to be a significant hit. The "Sonic" movies have proven successful, and the "Super Mario Bros." movie from a couple years ago was a massive hit. However, the history of video-game adaptations is spotty at best, and it's entirely possible we aren't in the midst of a trend in a positive direction.

One may not care about Warner Bros.' bottom line, but if one cares about the American film landscape, and also the theatrical experience, it does leave one in the odd position of saying to themselves, "Well, if 'A Minecraft Movie' is a hit, things will probably be alright."

(h/t Variety)