When it launched earlier this year, A Minecraft Movie became an instant cultural phenomenon. Though it earned mixed reviews from critics, it managed to completely captivate its target audience of young kids and Minecraft enthusiasts. Thanks to the presence of Jack Black and Jason Momoa, it managed to be pretty entertaining to more general audiences, as well. By the time the dust settled, the film managed to rake in more than $957 million dollars at the global box office. Suffice it to say, it was only a matter of time before Warner Bros and Legendary got to work on a sequel.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Warner Bros and Legendary have already set a release date for a sequel to The Minecraft Movie. The honor of making the announcement went to Minecraft’s Twitter account. The account shared an image with two pixelated pickaxes and a release date: July 23, 2027.
July 2027 is two years away, but it’s already shaping up to be one heck of a busy month at the box office. Man of Tomorrow, the sequel to Superman, is due for release on July 9, and A Quiet Place Part III is set to come out on July 30. In fact, The Minecraft Movie’s release date is already occupied by the long-awaited sequel to The Simpsons Movie. Now, they’re locked into a game of chicken. Now it’s a waiting game, to see which movie blinks and changes its release date, or maybe they’ll decide to go head-to-head and let the cards play out as they will.
Minecraft is tailormade to be a Summer blockbuster, but it could conceivably be successful in any moviegoing season. Meanwhile, The Simpsons Movie kinda has to be released in the Summer, which is the one season when the TV series isn’t airing new episodes. They’re both reasonably family-friendly, so there’s definitely a risk that they might devour one another at the box office. I’m honestly at a loss as to which movie should shift its release date.
I can’t imagine either movie actually failing, but I think they are both at risk if they release on the same day. In the movie business, timing is everything, and the right release date can mean the difference between a hit or a flop. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out.