‘Minecraft: The Movie’ Coming To A Theater Near You In May 2019
With over 100 million copies sold, Minecraft qualifies as the best selling PC game of all time, and the second best selling video game for any platform behind Tetris. Given how wildly popular it continues to be more than five years after release, it was probably inevitable that Minecraft would eventually land on the silver screen, and in 2019 it will.
"Hello future Minecraft movie-goers! I know you've been thinking just about every day. 'When's the Minecraft movie coming out?' Luckily for you, we can finally say! The Minecraft movie will be released on May 24, 2019!, Mojang stated in a blog post.
Why so far in the future? That may seem like an eternity to fans of the franchise, "but it just so happens to be the right amount of time to make it completely awesome," Mojang added. Beyond being awesome, Mojang didn't share any plot details or other relevant data, other than to confirm it will also be released in 3D and IMAX.
The other reason a transition to theaters was probably inevitable is because Microsoft paid a fortune for Mojang, acquiring the developer and its IP for $2.5 billion nearly two years ago. Assuming the movie won't be a flop, this is one way of making a return on that investment.
Video games don't always translate well to the movies, though even bad ones can sometimes make millions of dollars beyond their operating costs. Take for example the original Hitman flick released in 2007. It sits with a 14 percent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, yet brought in $100 million at the box office on a budget of $24 million.
Microsoft is probably hoping for something more along the lines of the Angry Birds Movie. That had a budget of $73 million with a recognizable cast providing voices for the characters (Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, and others) and has grossed over $333 million to date.
The challenge for Microsoft is keeping Minecraft relevant for another three years, though that may not turn out to be much of a challenge at all.
"Hello future Minecraft movie-goers! I know you've been thinking just about every day. 'When's the Minecraft movie coming out?' Luckily for you, we can finally say! The Minecraft movie will be released on May 24, 2019!, Mojang stated in a blog post.
Why so far in the future? That may seem like an eternity to fans of the franchise, "but it just so happens to be the right amount of time to make it completely awesome," Mojang added. Beyond being awesome, Mojang didn't share any plot details or other relevant data, other than to confirm it will also be released in 3D and IMAX.
The other reason a transition to theaters was probably inevitable is because Microsoft paid a fortune for Mojang, acquiring the developer and its IP for $2.5 billion nearly two years ago. Assuming the movie won't be a flop, this is one way of making a return on that investment.
Video games don't always translate well to the movies, though even bad ones can sometimes make millions of dollars beyond their operating costs. Take for example the original Hitman flick released in 2007. It sits with a 14 percent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, yet brought in $100 million at the box office on a budget of $24 million.
Microsoft is probably hoping for something more along the lines of the Angry Birds Movie. That had a budget of $73 million with a recognizable cast providing voices for the characters (Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, and others) and has grossed over $333 million to date.
The challenge for Microsoft is keeping Minecraft relevant for another three years, though that may not turn out to be much of a challenge at all.
