It’s giving meme-craft.
“A Minecraft Movie” left Hollywood in a state of giddy shock when the final box office numbers for its opening weekend arrived.
The Jack Black-Jason Momoa movie, which has already become the highest grossing movie adaptation of a video game ever, ended up taking home $162.7 million in the US and $150.7 million internationally —for a combined opening haul of $313.4 million.
The film was only projected to pocket $60 million at first blush, leaving many industry insiders wondering how the estimates got it so wrong and “Minecraft” got it so right.
The success likely lies in how passionate “Minecraft” fans turned screenings into a phenomenon akin to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” — but for Gen Alpha and Gen Z.
“I haven’t been to a movie with an audience this hyped since I saw ‘Magic Mike’ on opening night at the old Regal theater in Brooklyn Heights,” a 50-year-old resident from Mamaroneck, New York, who went with his eight and eleven-year-old sons to a Sunday night showing at the Mamaroneck Cinemas, told The Post.
“My screening was pure pandemonium, in a fun way,” he added. “It reminded me of going to see ‘Rocky Horror.’”
“Teens, tweens, and below were hooting and hollering from the moment the lights went down to play trailers. In between trailers, one kid – probably 13 or 14 – announced to the theater, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, if you see my popcorn flying through the air, do not be alarmed.’”
The sentiment was echoed on social media. “A Minecraft Movie is the Rocky Horror Picture Show for Gen Z,” wrote one person on X.
The movie’s success was unquestionably not fueled by positive reviews from critics. Dubbed “irritating” and a “cavern of stupidity” by The Post’s own Johnny Oleksinski, “A Minecraft Movie” currently has a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer.
There are some obvious reasons why the movie struck gold: box office tracking firms struggle to forecast the under-13 crowd’s movie habits; a tie-in McDonald’s happy meal and marketing campaign that caught the attention of Gen Z and Gen Alpha; and, of course, Minecraft being the most successful video game in history.
The financial success of “Minecraft” also owes to how enthusiastic fans turned the movie into an event experience.
“It was so interactive. Everyone was super excited. It was a lot of fun!” one moviegoer, who saw the flick at the AMC Newport Centre 11 in Jersey City on Friday night, told The Post. “People were yelling out things, clapping. It was definitely a vibe.”
“There was a lot of line quoting. Everyone was saying, ‘I am Steve.’ Everyone was playing around. Characters would come onscreen and people would scream and applaud. They were loving it. Everyone was dressed up. People had makeup on. It was like a nerd event,” they shared. “I went in not knowing anything [about Minecraft]. It made it more enjoyable.”
However, it was a piece of “Minecraft lore” that elicited the wildest audience reactions.
“The biggest moment came about 2/3 of the way through the movie when the ‘chicken jockey’ makes his appearance,” the Mamaroneck moviegoer recalled to the Post. “The place ERUPTED in screams and cheers, with people yelling ‘CHICKEN JOCKEY’ at the screen and standing on their seats to celebrate.”
Best described as a baby zombie riding a chicken, the “Chicken Jockey” is one of the more unusual creatures in the video game and has become a favorite Easter egg for vet players.
“There were a lot of kids in suits. That threw me off,” said an AMC 84th Street 6 employee, noting some wore replicate “skins” or avatars, used in the video game.
Most kids at the theater on opening weekend ranged between 6 and 10, the employee added.
“Minecraft” merchandise sold out quickly at theaters, too.
“The person next to me spent $100 on merch,” the Jersey City viewer said in amazement. “The theater ran out of [limited edition] cups and people were so bummed.”
“Oh yeah, we’re done. We sold out of everything except the [‘Minecraft’] sunglasses before 1 p.m. on Saturday,” the Upper West Side cinema employee revealed. “We don’t have any of the plushies or anything. We just got an extra shipment in for this weekend.”
“It was a similar experience to a Marvel movie where guests were talking about the movie and about their favorite lines or parts of the movie as they left,” another 84th Street AMC employee said of the phenomenon.
Further evidence of fan interest in the movie: giant installations of Minecraft’s “Creeper” character created by company Experiential Supply that popped up in malls across the country, including Woodfield Mall in the Chicago suburbs and Newport Centre in Jersey City, drawing large crowds.
Some cinemagoers, however, thought many of their fellow patrons were comin’ in a little too hot.
“It made the experience even more miserable for me,” one disgruntled person commented via Reddit regarding fans’ loud vocal interactions. “I don’t know if I’m just an old curmudgeon at this point in my life or what, but the movie was terrible and the audience was worse.”
On Long Island, a Friday “Minecraft” showing in Seaford was interrupted by police after audience members began jumping out of their seats, throwing popcorn and screaming “Chicken Jockey!” Several young people were escorted from the theater, but no arrests were made.
In Wasilla, Alaska, police were called after “rowdy teenagers in the back row” of a Friday night showing allegedly body-slammed a theater employee.
The teens “were spoken to about their behavior and asked to leave,” a spokesperson for the Wasilla Police Department told The Post. Theater employees were “satisfied with the outcome.”
In New Jersey’s Washington Township, the Township Theatre instituted a policy requiring that “any minors wishing to see The Minecraft Movie MUST be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult” after “an unfortunate situation” occurred at the cinema Friday night.
“A large group of unsupervised boys — believed to be from Waldwick — engaged in completely unacceptable behavior, including vandalism,” a statement on the theater’s Facebook page read. “Unaccompanied groups of boys will not be admitted.”
Across the pond, multiple UK theaters have also posted signs warning that “disruptive” behavior “will not be tolerated.”
The hullabaloo, however, will likely draw more viewers than it will drive away. “Minecraft Theater Reaction” has quickly become a top trending search on TikTok.
