Nostalgia
Why the Minecraft movie adaptation is a smash hit and what the future of big IP at the intersection of games and movies holds.
Dear Readers,
Have you taken your kids to the movies yet to see the Minecraft movie? If not, you still have a chance to help the movie etch itself even more deeply into box office history.
This week, the movie surpassed $551 million in box office revenues, making it the second highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time. It surpassed beloved characters and successful franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Detective Pikachu, and Uncharted. Warner Bros executives all but confirmed that they will green light a sequel to the movie with an approximated release date sometime in 2027.
For now, the biggest question remains: Can A Minecraft Movie hit the $1 billion box office threshold and become only the 58th movie to ever do it? Interestingly, only one other video game adaptation has made that list to date.
Any guesses?
Super Mario. It takes the 18th spot on the list of the 57 movies to ever hit $1 billion in revenue.
There are many reasons why Minecraft is a success. The video game has been around for almost 16 years (it was first released in May of 2009) and it has an established and highly active fan base of roughly 200 million people that play the game each month. Actors like Jack Black and Jason Momoa have a broader, more mass market type appeal that stretches beyond Minecraft fandom based on the video game alone.
The drivers behind Minecraft’s movie success
But there are two very specific drivers of Minecraft’s success that haven’t been talked about a lot.
The IP cuts across demographic groups. 75% of all parents co-play video games with their kids. It’s a shared social experience that defies generations, and in fact brings them together. Chances are a lot of parents were, and still are, co-playing Minecraft with their kids already before the movie.
This brings us to the second point: Nostalgia. Minecraft first came out 16 years ago. That was the time when the current generation of parents that is taking their kids to see this movie was about 15 to 30 years old - which in the 80’s and 90’s were the prime video gaming years of that generation. For them (or should I say, us?), Minecraft is a fond memory of the past that brings with it many powerful associations of our teenage years. Designing to and creating for nostalgia is hugely powerful because it evokes these emotions and people connect the current events or experience they consume (e.g. watching the Minecraft movie) with their own past and all the experiences they made during that time that are inextricably connected to the IP, in this case Minecraft.
“Studies show that consumers trust brands that remind them of simpler, happier times. This emotional connection fosters brand loyalty, increases engagement, and enhances memorability. Nostalgic design helps brands stand out in a crowded marketplace, creating a sense of warmth, comfort, and reliability that resonates with audiences across generations.” - Sprak Design
This is the same principle why Super Mario has been such a successful IP across games and entertainment. It cuts across generations and brings them together. It evokes nostalgic memories people cherish. There are obviously a variety of other factors that impact the success of a franchise crossing over from the video game screen to the big screen, but without these two, it’s exponentially harder to achieve success at the scale at which Super Mario has done it - and at which Minecraft is about to do it. Case in point: Borderlands (it was called visually repulsive).
Who’s the next blockbuster franchise?
So what franchises and gaming IPs have those distinct qualities that they have a shot at becoming a blockbuster hit on the big screen? Let’s take a look at some of the most potent adaptations set to come to theaters.
Zelda
The movie adaptation of the widely recognized video game is set to release in 2027. Whenever you ask someone what their favorite video game of all time is, chances are they’ll say Zelda. As a matter of fact, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was voted the best video game of all time just 3 years ago. Few games have the nostalgic appeal that Zelda does as well as the ability to cater to multiple different audiences. If I was to make a prediction, I would say that Zelda will overtake Super Mario as the most successful game-turned-movie ever and cross the $2 billion box office revenue threshold. Don’t believe me? Check out the trailer.
Mortal Kombat 2 and Street Fighter
Two iconic franchises that have the potential to be very successful, but not at the same mass market scale. Why? Their genres and categories are too niche, meaning they don’t cut across generations enough and they certainly don’t make for a shared experience where families will go together to watch these. Still, if the movies can do right by the iconic game franchises, these two movies will be a hit.
The Sims
This one is another hot tip. Currently an unannounced release date, it has the same franchise ingredients as Minecraft: it’s a 25-year-old gaming franchise that according to different sources has about 85 million active players. Similar to Minecraft, it evokes nostalgia and makes for a great shared experience for families.
My personal pick
Ghost of Tsushima. This is hands down my favorite RPG game of all time. And if the success of acclaimed TV series Shogun is any indication, stories set in ancient Japan are still en vogue and this one is a blockbuster in the making. It also has the director of John Wick at the helm.
One for the future - Astro Bot
Keep an eye on Sony’s latest addition to its own IP catalogue and potential smash hit franchises. The latest instalments called Astro Bot was released in September of last year. It’s made for families and kids can identify with the main character and gameplay right away. Parents can pick up the game and play together easily. While it doesn’t have the nostalgia going for itself because it is a fairly new IP, the look and feel of the character will remind the older generation of another beloved character from the past: Wall-E. And Astro Bot has the potential to grow into a nostalgic franchise in its own right. As the current gateway for kids picking up their first video game, Astro Bot can be for our youngest what Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog were for us. The early success is astonishing: Astro Bot just picked up 5 awards at the BAFTA Game Awards, including taking the crown for “best game” and in the “family” category.
It seems like a golden age of video gaming IP crossing over into big screens is upon us.
Stay tuned for more insights and stories around transmedia where we will take a closer look at how companies are using IP successfully to engage consumers across multiple touch points, and the impact a movie release can have on the engagement with the corresponding game.