
Why Females Liked The Minecraft Video Game More Than The Movie
A Minecraft Movie, released by Warner Bros has given the film industry a much needed boost. Released on April 4, in its first ten days, the film has grossed nearly $280 million domestically and overall, $550 million worldwide. Based upon the video game launched in 2011, the film has already surpassed Captain America: Brave New World as the top grossing film so far this year.
Citing data from Comscore, Variety reported that prior to the release of Minecraft, domestic box office sales had been sluggish with box office down by almost 11% 2024 and by 40% from the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
With the success of A Minecraft Movie two weekends in, this year's box office is now running about even with last year. The film has also grossed nearly $40 million in the UK/Ireland and $20.3 million in China. With a trade war between China and the U.S., A Minecraft Movie could be the last Hollywood film released in China for the time being.
Diesel Labs, an AI data analytics company, evaluated social and video media behaviors from consumers (with heavy focus on unsolicited comments, a strong performance predictor), and compared the engagement levels with other previously released video game film adaptations. These included Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Borderlands, and Until Dawn, a film scheduled for release on April 25. Among the comparison set, Super Mario Bros. was the top grossing thus far.
The data found that A Minecraft Movie had, overall, a similar engagement level with The Super Mario Bros movie and had outperformed the other films. Similar to Minecraft, Super Mario Bros was also released in early April (2023). In their domestic opening weekends Super Mario Bros generated $146 million in ticket sales, compared to $163 million for Minecraft. Super Mario Bros wound up grossing $575 million domestically and $1.36 billion globally, ranking second domestically and globally to Barbie in 2023.
FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™
Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase
Pinpoint By Linkedin
Guess The Category
Queens By Linkedin
Crown Each Region
Crossclimb By Linkedin
Unlock A Trivia Ladder
In looking at the findings by gender, Diesel Labs found A Minecraft Movie had a similar gender break as both the Super Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movies with one-third of the audience female. When looking at gaming, the gender split for recent Super Mario Bros game releases was comparable to that of its feature film. Conversely, however, for Minecraft the audience profile for females was noticeably higher for gaming (45%) than for the movie (34%).
In analyzing the commentary from the Minecraft movie trailer Diesel Labs found;
Male audiences discussed topics such as;Excitement & Humor: Many male commenters expressed excitement and found aspects of the trailer humorous. References to scenes and elements like Villagers and Elytra were often made in a light-hearted manner. Nostalgia for the game also emerged as a significant theme.
• Critical Evaluation: There was a significant portion of male commenters evaluating the trailer critically, focusing on its fidelity to the game, particularly regarding graphics and storyline accuracy.
While female audiences leaned more toward;
• Aesthetic Appreciation and Excitement: Female commentators often focused on the aesthetics and the 'cute' or 'adorable' elements, expressing excitement over the game's visual representation in the movie, particularly when it comes to characters like pandas and baby zombies.
• Positive Anticipation: There was an eager anticipation for the movie, with many expressing the hope that it would live up to or surpass expectations set by previous trailers.
And finally, audience members who are also Minecraft players touched on;
• True-to-game Elements: Players express a strong emotional connection to the Minecraft movie, particularly appreciating the tribute to Technoblade, a beloved Minecraft content creator. This tribute resonates deeply with the community, evoking feelings of nostalgia and appreciation.
• Easter Eggs and Game References: Elements such as crafting, mobs, and specific game mechanics like the "chicken jockey" scene are discussed. Players enjoy identifying references to the game within the movie, such as the inclusion of Piglins and other in-game entities.
There was also a notable difference in commentary after the releases of the two trailers. The first trailer released on September 4, 2024 referenced A Minecraft Movie as a 'Hollywood Cash Grab' bereft of creativity and uniqueness compared to the game. Also, many players expressed dissatisfaction with the trailer's lack of authenticity to the original game. Reactions to the first trailer skewed very negative vs expected levels.
However, feedback from the second trailer released on November 19, 2024 was slightly more encouraging, with an appreciation of the Minecraft music and other small details (characters, scenes, etc.) that were represented. While some concerns remained on the quality of the CGI used and storyline, the reactions overall skewed less negative than after the first trailer.
When looking at age breaks; Gen Alpha (under 18) were least critical and were excited about the film despite the perceived flaws. Older demographics were more critical about the apparent shortfalls and reduction in original. One consistent theme after both trailers was that audiences expressed a desire for the movie to have been animated versus live-action.
Among the takeaways Diesel Labs found that some trailers should highlight more of the film's aspects that would be more appealing and engaging to females. The CEO of Diesel Labs, Anjali Midha, shared that, 'this case study highlighted a unique demographic disconnect between those who are players and those who are expressing that they saw the film. There's an opportunity over these next few weeks to subtly adjust the marketing plan to better target female film-goers and draw them back into the conversation.'
In addition, the use of YouTube for post release and capturing the TikTok trends around the film and for others to view, similar to the trends exhibited around Minions.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Forbes
8 hours ago
- Forbes
‘NYT Mini' Clues And Answers For Friday, July 25
Mini Crossword Looking for the answers to Thursday's NYT Mini? Check them out here: We are just one day away from the weekend, and today should offer you a bit of a breezy Mini to get through in order to start your Thursday. But first… The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper's larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays. Unlike its larger sibling, the NYT Mini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, you'll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives. The NYT Mini is a fun daily distraction that usually takes no time at all. I try to beat the standard weekday grid in less than a minute. But sometimes I can't quite figure out one or two clues and need to reveal the answer. To help you avoid doing that, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers (spoilers lie ahead, of course): NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers ACROSS FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder 1) What a palm tree emoji on Slack might indicate, informally - VACAY 6) Skirt - EVADE 7) iPhone app for jotting - NOTES 8) C.E.O., C.F.O. or C.T.O. - TITLE 9) Requirements for pink or purple hair - DYES DOWN 1) Let off a little steam - VENT 2) Skirt - AVOID 3) Like a remark that might elicit a "me-ow" - CATTY 4) "Skyfall" singer - ADELE 5) Positive R.S.V.P.s - YESES Mini A few tricky, overly clever clues today like 'a remark that elicits a 'me-ow' being 'catty.' Like come on, how were you going to naturally guess that? I also got the CEO, CFO and CTO one wrong at first as I could have sworn that was going to be 'execs," and I was surprised to learn that was not the case. The two words for skirt that had nothing to do with clothes were pretty clever. And I don't use Slack or emojis, but I could figure out vacay regardless. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
What Are The Bad Guys 2's Box Office Predictions?
The animated sequel to the 2022 hit, The Bad Guys, The Bad Guys 2, is nearly here, and the early box office prediction numbers are already out. With the strong performance of the previous movie, The Bad Guys 2 will have a head start. But is that enough to ensure a successful haul? How much is The Bad Guys 2 predicted to make at the box office? Box Office Pro predicts that The Bad Guys 2 will open with a weekend haul ranging from $25 million to $35 million. Industry analysts consider this strong for an animated sequel. However, they note that the numbers might have climbed higher with a different release window. The Bad Guys had a $23.9 million domestic opening and a $97.4 million domestic total. The studio released it in April, which is typically a favorable month for animated films. Changing release schedules has not worked well for many films in the past, and this strategy could pose a risk for The Bad Guys 2. However, a summer release would have meant competing with the highly anticipated Minecraft movie. The current release window offers relatively less competition. One factor that could benefit the upcoming Universal Pictures release is its position in the release schedule. It will be the first animated film to hit theaters since Pixar's Elio. The movie is made on a budget of $80 million and will require a significant haul to be considered profitable. The Bad Guys 2 features an ensemble cast that includes Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, and Alex Borstein, among others. The synopsis for the movie reads, 'The Bad Guys 2 follows the crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws who are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys. However, they're pulled out of retirement and forced to do 'one last job' by an all-female squad of criminals.' It will premiere on August 1, 2025. Stay tuned for more updates. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Marvel Star, 46, Jokes He Made Ron Howard Famous: 'Secret Sauce'
Marvel Star, 46, Jokes He Made Ron Howard Famous: 'Secret Sauce' originally appeared on Parade. Marvel star Anthony Mackie jokingly said that he made Ron Howard famous after the they both earned Emmy nominations in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series category for their work in The Studio. Mackie, 46, reflected on learning about his nomination when he appeared on the Wednesday, July 23, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. 'I'm on set… and I look over and everybody's like 'Congratulations!' And I was like, 'Oh, what white dude got nominated?' 'Cause I'm the white dude legend when it comes to nominations and wins,' Mackie said. 'So, I made Ryan Gosling famous. I made Jeremy Renner famous. I made Bryan Cranston famous." Mackie jokingly added, 'I made now Ron Howard famous. I'm like, if you want to get nominated, I'm the dude. You know what I mean?' Parade Daily🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 The Captain America: Brave New World actor was seemingly referring to the other projects he's been part of that his co-stars earned major nominations for. Mackie starred alongside Gosling, 44, in the 2006 film Half Nelson, which earned Gosling a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars. He also appeared alongside Renner, 54, in 2008's The Hurt Locker and Cranston, 69, in 2016's All the Way, which earned his co-stars Oscar and Emmy nods. Meanwhile, Howard, 71, earned his first acting Emmy nomination for The Studio. 'I am the secret sauce. I am the jelly in the donut you know what I'm saying?' Mackie said. Mackie and Howard are up against The Studio's Cranston, Dave Franco and Martin Scorsese and The Bear's Jon Bernthal in the category at the 2025 Emmys. 'So the way I look at it, I'm very honored and proud to be nominated,' Mackie said. He then noted that "the reality of it is" that he's "excited" to be in "second place." 'Because you know it's Ron Howard, and it's Scorsese," Mackie said. "So one of them are going to take it, but they're going to take votes from the other person. So I'm going to be in second.' Mackie added that he doesn't care about winning. "Who cares about … Winning is being nominated against Scorsese and Ron Howard … Because one of them is going to have to say, 'Damn I lost to Anthony Mackie,'" he said. Marvel Star, 46, Jokes He Made Ron Howard Famous: 'Secret Sauce' first appeared on Parade on Jul 24, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword