Why ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Succeeded While ‘Borderlands’ Failed

Did you know that development on a live-action Minecraft movie originally began in late 2014? More than 10 years is a long time for anyone, especially gamers. Aside from the wild chicken jockey celebrations, the recently released movie starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa is surprisingly doing wonders at the box office. A Minecraft Movie already holds two great accolades to its name: the second-highest-grossing film of 2025 and, more importantly, the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time.

Minecraft is seemingly going into the video game adaptation hall of fame alongside The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. Rewinding in time, director Eli Roth’s 2024 theatrical take on Borderlands — a first-person shooter line of video games — offered similar construction. It featured a group of heroes, witty dialogue at every turn, and comedic action from beginning to end. But in saying that, Borderlands quickly became a box office bomb. Why did one succeed while the other failed?

New Characters and Respecting the Source Material Help ‘A Minecraft Movie’

A Minecraft Movie

2
/5

Release Date

April 4, 2025

Runtime

101 minutes

Director

Jared Hess

Writers

Chris Galletta, Gavin James, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Allison Schroeder, Chris Bowman

Producers

Jason Momoa, Jill Messick, Mary Parent, Roy Lee, Todd Hallowell, Cale Boyter, Jon Berg, Jon Spaihts, Brian Andrew Mendoza, Vu Bui, Lydia Winters

Read Our Review

The most notable difference between A Minecraft Movie and Borderlands is the dedication to the source material. Yes, A Minecraft Movie takes some liberties, as seen with the bucket nunchucks Garrett makes and pink sheep being much more common than white sheep. Apart from a few details, Warner Bros., Mojang Studios, and director Jared Hess remained committed to crafting a world true to the game’s blocky aesthetic and rules. The all-encompassing lore of Minecraft was brilliantly mixed with humor that could work well with movie theater audiences (which also emphasized Black and Momoa’s strengths). On the other hand, the big-screen version of Borderlands can only be accepted by some if it’s not a Borderlands adaptation.

“A distinct cinematic universe” is how the film was described. This decision ultimately proved to be a mistake. Instead of taking the necessary time to delve into what psychos and vault hunters are (along with Pandora and the Vault itself), those at Lionsgate opted to cram as many thin references as they could without trying to find out why audiences liked the aspects so much. A major thematic element of the Borderlands games is the variety and creativity behind the “billions” of guns available. That foundational aspect has been wiped clean from the movie, instead opting for explosions and frenetic action that never really meant much.

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Besides the one and only Steve (and some player skin cameos), A Minecraft Movie chooses to bring new faces into the mix that do not coincide with the game. There’s Henry, his older sister Natalie, Dawn, and Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison. Since they are introduced through this singular movie medium, audiences have nothing to compare them to. Even though Borderlands emits a color palette similar to that featured in the games, that’s where the likenesses stop. Except for Claptrap, the casting choices for Lilith, Roland, Tannis, and Mad Moxxi age the characters by about 20 years beyond their in-game counterparts.

‘Borderlands’ Couldn’t Even Get the Villain Right

Even with a live-action Tiny Tina on hand, the group dynamic doesn’t come with any real bonding scenes that work. Jack Black’s Steve is constantly teaching and guiding others in A Minecraft Movie. In Borderlands, the plot drives the characters, not the other way around. It’s hard to say whether it was an issue with editing or just pure incompetence, but Borderlands’ main antagonist is another mistake.

Deukalian Atlas is a powerful man who wants more power to make himself more powerful. Even though A Minecraft Movie’s Malgosha is a computer-generated pig sorcerer queen, this villain shows much more charisma. There is a clumsy and awkward personality that shines through in every scene.

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None of this appears with Deukalian, and the character transforms into a face that is easily forgettable. The many, many psychos are more of a vicious threat than he is. In addition, A Minecraft Movie never tried to be something it wasn’t. A PG rating seems suitable considering the game’s all-age appeal. The crafting, the farming, the redstone machines — all of these game mechanics are here in movie form, never deviating from the family-oriented demographic. For crying out loud, one of the film’s controversies stems from the excitement of seeing a baby zombie on a chicken.

‘Borderlands’ Director Speaks Out, but Is He Right?

If nothing else, most of the momentum of Borderlands (the game series) comes from its crude, racy humor. What could have been a unique premise is stripped away from the movie and replaced with random bits of situational humor meant to appeal to children and adults. Thus, the kid-friendly Borderlands movie that was created pushes away the core audience that made the franchise popular in the first place. When you have a film based around gunfights and explosions, but there is no visible blood present, there is a problem.

Roth can point the blame for Borderlands’ production woes to COVID and Zoom calls all he wants, but there is a reason why so many agree that it’s just a weightless cash grab. Even with the pandemic rearing its ugly head, better casting could have been arranged, the tone should have been adjusted from the beginning, and the source material more faithfully adapted. If you want to compare the two, Borderlands is currently streaming on Starz. A Minecraft Movie is currently screening in theaters near you.

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