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The execs at Microsoft, Warner Bros. and Legendary can now breathe a collective sigh of relief as "A Minecraft Movie" proves to be a certified hit after its second big weekend at the box office.
Heading into the Jack Black and Jason Momoa-led movie's April 4 launch, uncertainty surrounding how the project would perform was high, but Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer was ready for whatever reaction was coming. Hopes were high amid the company's hit "Fallout" TV series at Amazon, though the risk was clear following the cancellation of its "Halo" adaptation at Paramount+, not to mention the mixed results for projects from competitors: for every "The Last of Us" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," there seems to always be a "Borderlands" movie that knocks the genre back a peg.
But the gaming giant's desire to take the risk on a move into Hollywood outweighed the fear of a flop, and the gamble proved to be worth it for Spencer, "Minecraft" developer Mojang and Microsoft's franchise-focused team, led by Kayleen Walters.
Spencer spoke with Variety for a feature story ahead of the movie's release and, along with his hopes for "A Minecraft Movie," revealed plans for future Microsoft IP adaptations, including "Fallout" Season 2, while balancing Microsoft Gaming and Xbox's first priority: video games.
What will be your metric for success for "A Minecraft Movie" within Microsoft?
I'm going to come back to respecting our player community. "Minecraft" is such a big community of players and creators already — obviously, with the time that the game's been in the market over 15 years now — and just incredibly successful in the video game space. So when we do something like this, the opportunity is for some to bring "Minecraft" to them. 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. But almost more important to me are the people who have been playing, who have been part of the community, and when they see this, they're proud. 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?
Microsoft Gaming Chief Phil Spencer on ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Gamble, ‘Fallout’ Season 2 and Mixing Hollywood Pursuits With Xbox Biz Priorities
Microsoft Gaming's Phil Spencer on "A Minecraft Movie," 'Fallout" Season 2, and Xbox's larger goals in Hollywood and gaming biz loyalty.
variety.com
