Will “A Minecraft Movie” become the year’s first blockbuster to join the billion-dollar club?
Well, Warner Bros. and Legendary’s PG video game adaptation is certainly on its way to the elusive $1 billion mark as ticket sales soared past $500 million after two weekends of release. So far, “Minecraft” has generated a massive $550.6 million globally including $269.6 million at the international box office and $281 million domestically. It’s already the highest grossing film of the year ahead of Disney and Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” ($213 million internationally, $410 million globally after nine weeks on the big screen).
Over the weekend, “A Minecraft Movie” added another $79.6 million from 76 international markets, declining 45% from its overseas debut. Top territories include the United Kingdom ($39.8 million), China ($20.3 million), Germany ($18.9 million) and Mexico ($18.7 million).
Disney and 20th Century’s vigilante thriller “The Amateur” started strongest among newcomers with $17.2 million from 52 territories. France was the highest-grossing market with $1.6 million followed by the U.K. with $1.4 million and Mexico with $1.4 million. “The Amateur,” starring Rami Malek as a vengeful CIA analyst who is hunting down the terrorists who killed his wife, opened in North America with $15 million for a global start of $32.2 million. Those initial sales are higher than expected, but with a $60 million price tag, “The Amateur” needs staying power to justify its production budget.
Another new release, Universal and Blumhouse’s horror film “Drop,” misfired in its international debut with $2 million from 47 markets. The movie was (slightly) more well attended in North America with $7.7 million, bringing its worldwide total to $10 million. Luckily, “Drop” has decent reviews and cost just $11 million so it doesn’t require too much to get into the black. “The White Lotus” breakout Meghann Fahy stars as Violet, a widowed mom who receives increasingly threatening and diabolical phone messages while she’s on a first date with a man named Henry (Brandon Sklenar from “It Ends With Us”).
