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Hollywood Lands a Much-Needed Box Office Hit with ‘A Minecraft Movie’

Jack Black poses for photographers with a model wolf character from the film, upon arrival at the World premiere of "A Minecraft Movie" on Sunday, March 30, 2025, in London. (AP)
Jack Black poses for photographers with a model wolf character from the film, upon arrival at the World premiere of "A Minecraft Movie" on Sunday, March 30, 2025, in London. (AP)
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Hollywood Lands a Much-Needed Box Office Hit with ‘A Minecraft Movie’

Jack Black poses for photographers with a model wolf character from the film, upon arrival at the World premiere of "A Minecraft Movie" on Sunday, March 30, 2025, in London. (AP)
Jack Black poses for photographers with a model wolf character from the film, upon arrival at the World premiere of "A Minecraft Movie" on Sunday, March 30, 2025, in London. (AP)

Hollywood needed “A Minecraft Movie” to be a hit, and it delivered in its opening weekend, significantly narrowing this year's box office deficit.

No one guessed just how big it would be. In its first few days in theaters, the movie earned a staggering $157 million in ticket sales from theaters in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. Internationally, it’s looking at an additional $144 million for a global debut of $301 million. And with school spring breaks ongoing, “A Minecraft Movie” is just getting started.

“We're just thrilled that audiences are responding and that everyone's going to the theater,” said Pamela Abdy, the co-chair and CEO of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.

Not only is it the biggest opening of 2025, “A Minecraft Movie” also broke the record for a video game adaptation, a distinction previously held by “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($146 million). Going into the weekend, analysts projected “Minecraft” might hit $80 million. Instead, it nearly doubled that figure.

“You can’t underestimate the value of earnest, entertaining, joyous cinema,” said Michael DeLuca, also co-chair and CEO. “People really want an escape, especially when it involves the whole family.”

Nothing is guaranteed in the movie business, but an offering based on the best-selling video game of all time makes for a good start. It hardly mattered that the block-based game doesn’t exactly have a narrative. Many of its 200 million active monthly players turned out in droves anyway.

DeLuca said it’s one of the “broadest playing movies” they’ve ever seen, meaning it’s working in all sizes of cinemas all over the world.

The PG-rated movie, directed by Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”), was a co-production of Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. It cost a reported $150 million to make, not including marketing and promotion expenses. Jack Black and Jason Momoa lead the ensemble cast (Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers and Sebastian Eugene Hansen). Their characters are transported into an imaginative dimension called the Overworld and need to go on a dangerous, and immensely silly, adventure to get home.

“We made the movie for the fans and the fans exceeded our expectations,” DeLuca said.

Critics were largely mixed on “A Minecraft Movie,” but audiences gave it a more promising B+ CinemaScore and 4/5 stars in PostTrak exit polls. Men made up around 62% of the audience, and 64% were under the age of 25. Warner Bros. went big on its release, opening the film in 4,263 locations domestically and 36,000 screens internationally.

“Younger audiences love going to the movie theater, believe it or not,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “This is the perfect small screen to big screen alliance. It became a must-see theatrical event. Awareness was off the charts.”

Video game adaptations have had some pivotal successes in recent years, including “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the “Sonic” series and “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

“Video games were once a genre that had very mixed results at the box office, but the code has finally been cracked,” Dergarabedian said.

Second place at this week's box office went to the Jason Statham action pic “A Working Man," which added $7.3 million in its second weekend. Third place was occupied by the second installment in the episodic “The Chosen: Last Supper” series. Part two (made up of episodes three through five) earned $7 million over the weekend. The third and final batch of episodes arrive in theaters on April 11.

“Snow White” slid to fourth place in its third weekend, bringing in $6.1 million. It's now made over $168 million globally.

It’s been a difficult start to 2025 for Hollywood and movie theaters, with disappointments including “Snow White” and “Mickey 17.” But one hit can change the tides significantly, especially with in-theater marketing pushes in full swing for the pivotal summer movie season, which kicks off the first weekend in May.

Before this weekend, the box office was running at a 13% deficit compared with last year. Now the gap is down to 5%.

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Entertainment

Real-Life Horror to TV Drama: Feared Syria Sites Become Sets for Series 

Syrian director Mohamad Abdul Aziz poses for a photograph at his office in Damascus on November 24, 2025. (AFP)
Syrian director Mohamad Abdul Aziz poses for a photograph at his office in Damascus on November 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Real-Life Horror to TV Drama: Feared Syria Sites Become Sets for Series 

Syrian director Mohamad Abdul Aziz poses for a photograph at his office in Damascus on November 24, 2025. (AFP)
Syrian director Mohamad Abdul Aziz poses for a photograph at his office in Damascus on November 24, 2025. (AFP)

At a Damascus air base once off-limits under Bashar al-Assad, a crew now films a TV series about the final months of the ousted leader's rule as seen through the eyes of a Syrian family.

"It's hard to believe we're filming here," director Mohamad Abdul Aziz said from the Mazzeh base, which was once also a detention center run by Assad's air force intelligence branch, known for its cruelty.

The site in the capital's southwestern suburbs "used to be a symbol of military power. Now we are making a show about the fall of that power," he told AFP.

Assad fled to Russia as an opposition offensive closed in on Damascus, taking it without a fight on December 8 last year after nearly 14 years of civil war and half a century of Assad dynasty rule.

The scene at the Mazzeh base depicts the escape of a figure close to Assad and is set to feature in "The King's Family" filmed in high-security locations once feared by regular Syrians.

The series is to be aired in February during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, prime-time viewing in the Arab world, when channels and outlets vie for the attention of eager audiences.

Dozens of actors, directors and other show-business figures who were opposed to Assad have returned to Syria since his ouster, giving the local industry a major boost, while other series have also chosen to film at former military or security sites.

- 'Impossible before' -

"It's a strange feeling... The places where Syria used to be ruled from have been transformed" into creative spaces, Abdul Aziz said.

Elsewhere in Damascus, his cameras and crew now fill offices at the former military intelligence facility known as Palestine Branch, where detainees once underwent interrogation so brutal that some never came out alive.

"Palestine Branch was one of the pillars of the security apparatus -- just mentioning its name caused terror," Abdul Aziz said of the facility, known for torture and abuse.

Outside among charred vehicles, explosions and other special effects, the team was recreating a scene depicting "the release of detainees when the security services collapsed," he said.

Thousands of detainees were freed when jails were thrown open as Assad fell last year, and desperate Syrians converged on the facilities in search of loved ones who disappeared into the prison system, thousands of whom are still missing.

Assad's luxurious, high-security residence, which was stormed and looted after he fled to Russia, is also part of the new series.

Abdul Aziz said he filmed a fight scene involving more than 150 people and gunfire in front of the residence in Damascus's upscale Malki district.

"This was impossible to do before," he said.

- 'Fear' -

The series' scriptwriter Maan Sakbani, 35, expressed cautious relief that the days of full-blown censorship under Assad were over.

The new authorities' information ministry still reviews scripts, but the censor's comments on "The King's Family" were very minor, he said from a traditional Damascene house where the team was discussing the order of scenes.

Sakbani said he was uncertain how long the relative freedom would last, and was waiting to see the reaction to the Ramadan productions once they were aired.

Several other series inspired by the Assad era are also planned for release at that time, including "Enemy Syrians", which depicts citizens living under the eyes of the security services.

Another, "Going Out to the Well", directed by Mohammed Lutfi and featuring several prominent Syrian actors, is about deadly prison riots in the infamous Saydnaya facility in 2008.

Rights group Amnesty International had called the facility a "human slaughterhouse".

"The show was written more than two years ago and we intended to film it before Assad's fall," Lutfi said.

But several actors feared the former authorities' reaction and they were unable to find a suitable location since filming in Syria was impossible.

Now, they plan to film on site.

"The new authorities welcomed the project and provided extensive logistical support and facilities for filming inside Saydnaya prison," Lutfi said.

As a result, it will be possible "to convey the prisoners' suffering and the regime's practices -- from the inside the actual location," he said.

Entertainment

A Minute With ‘Knives Out’ Director Rian Johnson on Third Franchise Film 

Rian Johnson. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rian Johnson. (Getty Images/AFP)
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A Minute With ‘Knives Out’ Director Rian Johnson on Third Franchise Film 

Rian Johnson. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rian Johnson. (Getty Images/AFP)

Writer and director Rian Johnson is unveiling his third “Knives Out” mystery movie, “Wake Up, Dead Man,” which streams on Netflix on December 12.

The film centers around Father Jud Duplenticy, played by Josh O’Connor, who finds himself the prime suspect in a murder amidst a small, close-knit Catholic church congregation.

The “Knives Out” detective from the previous franchise films, Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, turns up to solve the mystery.

Johnson told Reuters about the process of creating the third film in the franchise.

Q. When you’re picking titles for films, like the last film “Glass Onion,” and this one “Wake Up, Dead Man,”– how much are you trying to befuddle the audience just with the title alone?

A. Well, I mean, you’re trying to pick a title that sounds like a good murder mystery title, that sounds a little intriguing but also that hopefully once you see the movie, you’re like, "it couldn’t have been named anything else." And this movie, I think the title is apropos.

Q. When you’re writing these mysteries, do you know who you have in mind for who the cast is?

A. I try not to, because it’s a pathway to heartbreak because in one way, all the actors are excited about being in them. It’s still we’re going after people who are the busiest people in the world, who are these movie stars so you don’t always know if it’s going to work out schedule-wise. So, if you’ve written with somebody deeply ingrained for that part and you can’t get them, then that’s a heartbreak. I try and write just to the characters. I try and just write an interesting group and then find the best people to play them.

Q. I think last time I interviewed you for "Glass Onion", you’d done this script already. How far ahead are you of future installments?

A. I actually think it’s quite important for me not to come up with an idea and start writing it until I know it’s going to be the next thing. So it’s not like I have a drawer of ideas for these things.

Entertainment

Full List of 2026 Golden Globe Nominees

A podium stands near Golden Globe statues, ahead of the announcement of the nominations for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
A podium stands near Golden Globe statues, ahead of the announcement of the nominations for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
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Full List of 2026 Golden Globe Nominees

A podium stands near Golden Globe statues, ahead of the announcement of the nominations for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
A podium stands near Golden Globe statues, ahead of the announcement of the nominations for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Nominees for the 2026 Golden Globe Awards have been announced and “One Battle After Another” is this year's leading nominee.

Here's the list of who's nominated for this year's awards, which will be held Jan. 11 at the Beverly Hilton. Nikki Glaser will host the ceremony, according to Reuters.

MOVIES Best motion picture, drama “Frankenstein”; “Hamnet”; “It Was Just An Accident”; “The Secret Agent”; “Sentimental Value”; “Sinners.”

Best motion picture, musical or comedy “Blue Moon”; “Bugonia”; “Marty Supreme”; “No Other Choice”; “Nouvelle Vague”; “One Battle After Another.”

Best performance by a female actor in a motion picture, drama Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”; Jennifer Lawrence, “Die My Love”; Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”; Julia Roberts, “After the Hunt”; Tessa Thompson, “Hedda”; Eva Victor, “Sorry Baby.”

Best performance by a male actor in a motion picture, drama Joel Edgerton, “Train Dreams”; Oscar Isaac, “Frankenstein”; Dwayne Johnson, “The Smashing Machine”; Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”; Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”; Jeremy Allen White, “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.”

Best performance by a female actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”; Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked: For Good”; Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”; Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”; Amanda Seyfried, “The Testament of Ann Lee”; Emma Stone, “Bugonia.”

Best performance by a male actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”; George Clooney, “Jay Kelly”; Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”; Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”; Lee Byung-hun, “No Other Choice”; Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia.”

Best performance by a female actor in a supporting role Emily Blunt, “The Smashing Machine”; Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”; Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good”; Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”; Amy Madigan, “Weapons”; Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another.”

Best performance by a male actor in a supporting role Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another”; Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”; Paul Mescal, “Hamnet”; Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”; Adam Sandler, “Jay Kelly”; Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value.”

Cinematic and box office achievement “Avatar: Fire and Ash”; “F1”; “KPop Demon Hunters”; “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”; “Sinners”; “Weapons”; “Wicked: For Good”; “Zootopia 2.”

Best motion picture, non-English “It Was Just an Accident,” France; “No Other Choice,” South Korea; “The Secret Agent,” Brazil; “Sentimental Value,” Norway; “Sirāt,” Spain; “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” Tunisia.

Best motion picture, animated “Arco”; “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle”; “Elio”; “KPop Demon Hunters”; “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”; “Zootopia 2.”

Best director Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”; Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”; Guillermo del Toro, “Frankenstein”; Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident”; Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”; Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet.”

Best screenplay “One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson; “Marty Supreme,” Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie; “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler; “It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi; “Sentimental Value,” Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier; “Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell.

Best original score “Frankenstein,” Alexandre Desplat; “Sinners,” Ludwig Göransson; “One Battle After Another,” Jonny Greenwood; “Sirāt,” Kangding Ray; “Hamnet,” Max Richter; “F1,” Hans Zimmer.

Best original song “Dream as One,” from “Avatar: Fire and Ash”; “Golden,” from “KPop Demon Hunters”; “I Lied to You,” from “Sinners”; “No Place Like Home,” from “Wicked: For Good”; “The Girl in the Bubble,” from “Wicked: For Good”; “Train Dreams,” from “Train Dreams.”

TELEVISION Best television series, drama “The Diplomat”; “The Pitt”; “Pluribus”; “Severance”; “Slow Horses”; “The White Lotus.”

Best television series, comedy or musical “Abbott Elementary”; “The Bear”; “Hacks”; “Nobody Wants This”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “The Studio.”

Best performance by a female actor, drama Kathy Bates, “Matlock”; Britt Lower, “Severance”; Helen Mirren, “Mobland”; Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”; Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”; Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus.”

Best performance by a male actor, drama Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”; Diego Luna, “Andor”; Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”; Mark Ruffalo, “Task”; Adam Scott, “Severance”; Noah Wyle, “The Pitt.”

Best performance by a female actor TV series, musical or comedy Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”; Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”; Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”; Natasha Lyonne, “Poker Face”; Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday”; Jean Smart, “Hacks.”

Best performance by a male actor, TV series, musical or comedy Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”; Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”; Glen Powell, “Chad Powers”; Seth Rogen, “The Studio”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear.”

Best limited series, anthology series or movie made for television “Adolescence”; “All Her Fault”; “The Beast in Me”; “Black Mirror”; “The Girlfriend”; “Dying for Sex.”

Best performance by a male actor in a limited series, anthology series or movie made for television Jacob Elordi, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”; Paul Giamatti, “Black Mirror”; Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”; Charlie Hunnam, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”; Jude Law, “Black Rabbit”; Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me.”

Best performance by a female actor in a limited series, anthology series or movie made for television Claire Danes, “The Beast in Me”; Rashida Jones, “Black Mirror”; Amanda Seyfried, “Long Bright River”; Sarah Snook, “All Her Fault”; Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex”; Robin Wright, “The Girlfriend.”

Best performance by a female actor in a supporting role Carrie Coon, “The White Lotus”; Erin Doherty, “Adolescence”; Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”; Catherine O’Hara, “The Studio”; Parker Posey, “The White Lotus”; Aimee Lou Wood, “The White Lotus.”

Best performance by a male actor in a supporting role Owen Cooper, “Adolescence”; Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”; Walton Goggins, “The White Lotus”; Jason Isaacs, “The White Lotus”; Tramell Tillman, “Severance”; Ashley Walters, “Adolescence.”

Best performance in stand-up comedy on TV Bill Maher, “Is Anyone Else Seeing This?”; Brett Goldstein, “The Second Best Night of Your Life”; Kevin Hart, “Acting My Age”; Kumail Nanjiani, “Night Thoughts”; Ricky Gervais, “Mortality”; Sarah Silverman, “PostMortem.”

Best podcast “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard”; “Call Her Daddy”; “Good Hang with Amy Poehler”; “The Mel Robbins Podcast”; “SmartLess”; “Up First from NPR.”