Now that A Minecraft Movie has made its way to theaters, audiences are heading in their droves to see Steve's live-action debut. But as they do that, some moviegoers have been surprised by the loud applause and cheers in moments that seemingly wouldn't warrant such a roaring reaction.
From the moment the trailer for A Minecraft Movie arrived, fans were bracing for a critical travesty, box office flop, and generally bad movie. And yet, the first reactions to the video game adaptation were, surprisingly, glowing.
Even in the U.K., usually home to quieter audiences, A Minecraft Movie received thunderous applause, cheering, quoting, and even a standing ovation as the final credits rolled in this writer's opening night screening. One group sat directly in front had even dressed for the occasion, with the lads suited-up and ladies in dresses.
Undeniably, the most noteworthy applause came in moments from the trailer, with audiences cheering and echoing lines that went viral before the movie hit theaters.
Most of these lines came from Jack Black's Minecraft star, who declared, "I... am Steve" to his new companions, ignited a Nether portal with a hilarious delivery of "Flint and Steel," and announced "Chicken jockey" as a baby zombie riding a chicken was dropped into an arena to fight the Garbage Man.
Ahead of A Minecraft Movie, many of these moments have gone viral on TikTok as part of meme compilations. As much of the flick's more vocal audiences - namely kids and teenagers - were beyond familiar with these lines, it's no surprise they were ready to give it all when they appeared on the big screen.
But it wasn't just the already-memed trailer moments that drew big reactions, as audiences very much got into the rest of what Minecraft had to offer.
As Jack Black stretched his Tenacious D vocal muscles to deliver "I Feel Alive" after returning to the real world, audiences were heard clapping their way through this rock ballad, with some die-hard fans even singing along.
Thanks to its massive memeability, A Minecraft Movie could follow trends similar to 2022's Minions: The Rise of Gru. The Despicable Me spin-off drew huge crowds, heard insane in-theater reactions, and attracted "Gentleminions" wearing suits to their screenings, leading it to be a viral sensation with over $1 billion grossed.
A Minecraft Movie has got off to a strong start already, it is on track to open at a staggering $260 million worldwide, including over $135 million from domestic audiences. That would place it only $20 million outside the Top 50 highest worldwide openings in history - a truly impressive feat.
