A Minecraft Movie is now in theaters and it’s putting up huge numbers, ranking as the No. 2 highest-grossing video game movie of all time after just two weeks in theaters. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has now discussed the movie, digging into how the movie could help grow the Minecraft video game. He also talked about why it took more than a decade to make the movie.
Speaking to Variety, Spencer said one way Microsoft may benefit from A Minecraft Movie is by bringing more people to the game who might not otherwise play.
“Maybe they don’t play video games, and this is an opportunity for them to see it on the big screen, ‘What is this Minecraft thing?’ and get invested in it,” he said.
For the dedicated Minecraft fans, Spencer said it was important to make A Minecraft Movie something the fans would be proud of. “That Minecraft is something that they’ve been investing in with their time and they see it represented on the big screen and doing well now. That is the high order for me: How do people feel? Does this respect the IP? Does it respect the franchises?” he said.
A Minecraft Movie was funded by Warner Bros. and Legendary, and those companies stand to directly benefit monetarily from the movie’s success at the box office. It’s still early days, but Spencer said Microsoft will look at “the impact that the movie has” on Minecraft’s revenue over time.
The executive also pointed out that Minecraft the game has been around for 15 years, and it has been a successful business in terms of revenue already. With that in mind, Spencer said it was key for A Minecraft Movie to be “additive” to what the video game already offers.
“Because anything that might take away from the quality and expectation of the video game could be so damaging,” he said. “That’s why it’s taken us a while through this process to make sure that we find the right partner, we’ve got the right creative ideas, and we want to make the community proud with how we continue to be shepherds of this world.”
Indeed, it did take a while for A Minecraft Movie to come to market. The film was first announced in 2014 and had directors Rob McElhenney and Shawn Levy attached to direct at different points in time. Those versions of the film didn’t work out, with Levy citing creative differences. Eventually, Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess was hired to direct, and the results speak for themselves.
Given the huge success of A Minecraft Movie, plans are underway for a sequel.
