“A Minecraft Movie” holds on to the top spot in North American theatres

[LOS ANGELES] A Minecraft Movie easily held on to the top spot in North American theatres this weekend with estimated ticket sales of a solid US$80.6 million, analysts said on Sunday (Apr 13).

That was roughly half the total of its huge opening last weekend. But with US$281 million in domestic ticket sales to date, along with US$269 million internationally, Minecraft has set records in its short run.

The Warner Bros/Legendary PG film, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, ranks as the most successful film adaptation from a video game.

The film’s huge popularity helped put the movie industry’s overall box office performance on a par with the same period last year, Hollywood Reporter said.

Four new releases came in far behind.

The King of Kings, an animation that has a young Charles Dickens narrating the story of Jesus, placed second at an estimated US$19.1 million during its strategic release a week before Easter, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.

Kenneth Branagh, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman and Mark Hamill lead the voice cast for the latest production from Angel Studios, the Utah-based indy media company known for its faith-based films.

Angel offered free admission to children coming with paying adults, and the family-friendly movie received a rare A+ rating from ComScore.

In third place was Disney and 20th Century’s thriller The Amateur, at US$15 million. Rami Malek plays a nerdy, self-effacing CIA analyst who turns vicious as he tracks down those behind an attack that killed his wife. Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Bernthal also star.

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Combat thriller Warfare from A24 placed fourth, at US$8.3 million. The film, based partly on the experiences of co-director Ray Mendoza as a navy SEAL, follows a platoon of soldiers – the ensemble cast includes Joseph Quinn of Stranger Things fame – moving warily through unfriendly territory.

And in fifth place was Universal and Blumhouse’s horror film Drop, at US$7.5 million. It tells the story of a widowed mother (Meghann Fahy from The White Lotus) who receives a creepily ominous phone call while in the middle of a first date.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

• The Chosen: Last Supper Part 3 (US$5.8 million);
• A Working Man (US$3.1 million);
• Snow White (US$2.8 million);
• The Woman in the Yard (US$2.1 million); and
• The Friend (US$621,000).