The Minecraft Movie kicked off with an explosive opening weekend, bringing in a whopping $301 million at the global box office. Featuring Jack Black in a lead role, the film has already doubled its $150 million production cost and shattered early forecasts.
To put its success into perspective, this debut outperforms that of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which eventually wrapped its theatrical run with a total of $1.36 billion.
The early success of the Minecraft movie has validated Warner Bros.’ long-delayed decision to move forward with the project. First announced more than ten years ago, many doubted whether Steve’s cinematic adventure in the Overworld would ever make it to theaters.
It’s likely to inspire more studios to bring their games to the big screen. But if any company should be watching this closely, it’s Epic Games, the powerhouse behind Fortnite.
Minecraft’s Movie Success Proves Fortnite Deserves a Shot
Fortnite may be the only title that surpasses Minecraft in terms of sheer global popularity. According to Statista’s most recent report, the game has attracted over 650 million registered users—a figure that’s likely even higher now, given the data is more than a year old.
That’s more than twice the number of players Minecraft has seen throughout its existence. So, if the Minecraft movie made a major impact, just imagine the potential of a Fortnite film.
Well, it’s not like the folks at Epic Games are suddenly having an epiphany after reading this. Talk of a Fortnite film has been circulating for years, with speculation bubbling about the game making its leap to the big screen.
But in a perfectly timed twist, just as the Minecraft movie was pulling in massive box office numbers, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney stated only two days ago that there are currently no plans for a Fortnite movie.
It’s hard to imagine that nothing has shifted in the 48 hours since Tim Sweeney’s statement. If I were in a position of influence at Epic, initiating plans for a Fortnite movie would’ve been my immediate move.
The same applies to any major film studio capable of producing a blockbuster of that scale. Instead of chasing after projects like Split Fiction, studios should be racing to secure the rights to bring Fortnite to the big screen.
The Minecraft Movie’s Missteps Highlight Fortnite’s Big-Screen Potential
Many of you are probably already rolling your eyes at the thought and preparing to leave a comment about how awful this idea sounds assuming you’ve made it this far. Admittedly, the concept of a Fortnite movie might not inspire much confidence.
But that’s exactly why the Minecraft movie helps make the case for it. To be honest, the Minecraft film isn’t very good—I’ve seen it.
I watched it with my five-year-old son, who gleefully named every creature on screen and couldn’t stop laughing during the Chicken Jockey scene, along with the rest of the kids in the audience.
While Minecraft and Fortnite are two very different games, Epic Games could still take a few cues from Mojang’s first movie outing. The most important lesson? Don’t overthink the plot.
Fans didn’t head to the theatres for a deep, complex storyline or convoluted lore—that’s not what drew Minecraft’s audience in. And it won’t be what attracts Fortnite’s fanbase either.
Stack It With Recognizable Faces & Fan-Favourite References
All a Fortnite film really needs is 90 minutes packed with callbacks and nods to the game—and if it wants to follow Minecraft’s lead, tossing in a few celebrity cameos wouldn’t hurt either.
Should Epic want to see Fortnite on the big screen, it needs to act sooner rather than later. The surge in video game adaptations is already flooding the market, and it’s starting to feel like the next oversaturated trend, much like superhero movies once were. Sooner or later, interest will dip, and the window of opportunity might close.
Fortnite has reached such an enormous level of popularity that even if a film adaptation came after the video game movie trend fades—and even if it received poor reviews like the Minecraft movie, it would still likely pull in a billion dollars based on name recognition alone.
Also Read: Elden Ring Nightreign’s Archer Class Has Strong Similarities to Monster Hunter Wilds
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