Category Archives: Arts & Culture

‘Jaat’ Box Office Collection Day 1: Sunny Deol Scores Second-Highest Opening After ‘Gadar 2’; Here’s What Movie Needs To Gross To Be a ’Hit!

Jaat, Sunny Deol’s first film since the blockbuster success of Gadar 2 in 2023, hit theatres on April 10, 2025 with a solo release in Bollywood. Marking the Hindi debut of Telugu filmmaker Gopichandh Malineni and the second Hindi film of production house Mythri Movie Makers (after Farrey), Jaat is a violent action potboiler also featuring Randeep Hooda, Vineet Kumar Singh, Saiyami Kher, Regina Cassandra, Ramya Krishnan, and Jagapathi Babu in the cast. Urvashi Rautela also makes a special appearance in an item number. ‘Jaat’ Movie Review: A Mind-Numbingly Violent and Boring ‘Telugu’ Potboiler, Incidentally Starring Sunny Deol.
While the teaser and trailer generated considerable buzz, the songs of Jaat failed to make an impact. Adding to the challenges, advance bookings opened late due to a delay in securing the censor certificate. This may partly explain the film’s underwhelming opening day collection of INR 9.62 crore, which fell short of expectations – many had anticipated a double-digit debut in India.
Taran Adarsh’s Update on ‘Jaat’

#Jaat picked up momentum with each passing hour – exceeding industry expectations that had pegged its Thursday opening at around ₹ 7 cr.
Released on a Thursday to coincide with the partial #MahavirJayanti holiday, #Jaat recorded low advance bookings – primarily because ticket… pic.twitter.com/C9TQK47NGm
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) April 11, 2025
That said, Jaat still marks Sunny Deol’s second-best opening after Gadar 2. Before the 2023 blockbuster, the actor had faced a prolonged slump at the box office. While Gadar 2’s opening day haul of INR 40.10 crore remains far ahead, Jaat can still be seen as a positive step in Deol’s box office resurgence. Whether it can sustain momentum and post a respectable total remains to be seen. The film is performing relatively well in single-screen theatres across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana.
Top Five Sunny Deol Opening Day Collections (India)
1. Gadar 2 – INR 40.10 crore
2. Jaat – INR 9.62 crore
3. Yamla Pagla Deewana – INR 7.95 crore
4. Ghayal Once Again – INR 7.20 crore
5. Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 – INR 7.5 crore
The Budget of ‘Jaat’
Although not officially confirmed, reports suggest that Jaat was made on a substantial budget of INR 100 crore. It’s unclear whether this figure includes only the production costs or also covers marketing and distribution. If the reported amount accounts for all expenses, Jaat would need to gross at least INR 150 crore worldwide to break even, otherwise the expected figure would be much higher. ‘Jaat’ Superstar Sunny Deol Says ‘Producers Up North Should Learn To Make Cinema With Love From South Filmmakers’.
A clearer picture of the film’s performance will emerge after the opening weekend. While Jaat faces no direct competition in Bollywood till next week’s Kesari Chapter Two and The Bhootnii, this week, it does contend with the Punjabi film Akaal – a strong rival in Sunny Deol’s Punjab stronghold.
Down South, the film faces stiff competition from major regional releases such as Jack (Telugu), Good Bad Ugly (Tamil), and Bazooka, Alappuzha Gymkhana, and Maranamass (all Malayalam). Although critical reviews have been mixed, audience reception for Jaat appears to be comparatively more favourable. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 11, 2025 06:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).

10 Best Movies Like A Minecraft Movie

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Like it or not, “A Minecraft Movie” is absolutely crushing it at the worldwide box office, so like nightfall in the Overworld, you can bet these movies are gonna keep coming until the servers crash.
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We could talk about the many, many flaws “A Minecraft Movie” practically flaunts throughout its somehow-arduous 90-minute runtime (and, indeed, we’ve already published a full review here), but there’s clearly an audience for this sort of broad, colorful family adventure film based on a massively popular piece of intellectual property. Who knew?
A lot of movie studios, actually, all of whom have been producing movies like “A Minecraft Movie” for the past several years with mixed results. We picked a few of our favorites, added in some older picks for good measure, and crafted this list of the 10 best movies like “A Minecraft Movie.” Whether you liked it for its ensemble of misfits, its fantastical world, or simply because Jack Black gets sucked into a video game, you can mine for your next watch with this line-up of movies like “A Minecraft Movie.”
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Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Paramount Pictures

If you want another mid-2020s adventure film that mixes elements of fantasy with contemporary action and comedy, you should definitely roll the dice on “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.” Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the 2023 movie manages to appeal to both die-hard fans of the culturally dominant tabletop roleplaying game as well as those who don’t know their D20s from their D6s, largely by harnessing the real, relatable chaos of an actual D&D game and channeling it through a story that resembles the best of Marvel Studios’ crowd-pleasing adventures.
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Anyone who’s played even one game of D&D will be charmed by how accurately it nails the game’s bewildering mechanics while capturing the spirit of collaborative, improvisational storytelling that serves as the game’s beating heart, which could have something to do with the fact that the directors and the cast themselves actually played D&D as part of their creative process. 
Speaking of the cast, it includes so many underrated performers getting to do what they do best, from Chris Pine’s dashing scoundrel of a bard and Michelle Rodriguez’s brutal barbarian to Regé-Jean Page’s pompous paladin. You don’t even need to be a player to fall in love with the entire ensemble cast (there are also a few surprise cameos from actors who nearly threaten to steal the entire movie, but we won’t spoil them here).
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Despite clearly being set up to launch a series or perhaps even a whole franchise of “Dungeons and Dragons” related films and television shows, “Honor Among Thieves” was a critical failure at the box office (though the second life it found on Netflix may help keep the dice rolling). For now, it’s a wildly entertaining film that will surely entertain fans of “A Minecraft Movie.”

Free Guy

20th Century Studios

For better and for worse, “A Minecraft Movie” is a film made to capture the interest of an extremely online audience, one as fluent, or even more so, in the world of YouTubers and Twitch streamers as they are in the world of video games. If this sort of energy appeals to you, “Free Guy” is right up your alley.
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Released in 2021 as cinemas were testing the waters amidst the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the film was the first collaboration between producer-slash-director Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds. The sense of humor, pacing, and visual style you’ll find in their subsequent work — the serviceable Netflix sci-fi family flick “The Adam Project” and the billion dollar behemoth Marvel Studios sequel “Deadpool and Wolverine” — is rooted in this breathless story about a video game character who attempts to save his virtual world after becoming self-aware. It’s a strange mix of “The Truman Show” and “Barbie” (its similarities to the latter being so prominent that a sequel was put on hold), told with the narrative language of a Marvel movie and set in a world that clearly takes its cues from the likes of “Grand Theft Auto V.”
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At its worst, it’s an indulgent, loud, CGI-heavy mess that doesn’t have a coherent grasp of its own themes. But unlike “A Minecraft Movie,” “Free Guy” does have the spectacle, charisma, star power, and aggressive optimism to be a genuinely entertaining dumb-but-fun blockbuster.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Sony Pictures Releasing

Some of you reading this are probably shaking your heads thinking, “But /Film, it’s a ridiculous movie where Jack Black gets sucked into an unrealistically lush world that somehow also operates on retro video game logic. How could any film compete with that?” Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
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If you were one of the few people that didn’t contribute to the nearly $1 billion box office haul of 2017’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” it’s time to log off and plug in to one of the best legacy sequels ever made. Following the original 1995 Robin Williams film about a magical board game that brings the dangers of the jungle to the real world, “Welcome to the Jungle” reinvents this premise for the age of gamers by uploading “Jumanji” to the digital world. The film follows four teenagers (one of whom is played by “Hereditary” star Alex Wolff) who get sucked into the game of “Jumanji,” now essentially an NES RPG with inventories, stats, and health bars. In this magical virtual world, they find themselves embodying avatars of fictional characters played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black.
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Black’s performance in “Welcome to the Jungle” is light-years ahead of anything he does in “A Minecraft Movie,” not least of all because he’s giving a Kirk Lazarus-esque performance as “a dude playing another dude” (we won’t spoil more than that here). The film overall is an absolute delight, and its sequel – which Black and his co-stars all returned for — is just as solid.

The Last Starfighter

Universal Pictures

Maybe the retro aesthetics of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and “A Minecraft Movie” aren’t enough for you, and maybe you need something a little more nostalgic to hit the spot. In that case, we should jet on back to the actual 1980s for the science fiction epic “The Last Starfighter.”
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Directed by Nick Castle (director of “Dennis the Menace,” writer of “Hook” and “Escape from New York,” and the first actor to portray Michael Myers in the “Halloween” series), the 1984 feature follows a down-on-his-luck teenager (fellow “Halloween” franchise alum Lance Guest) who discovers that he has a unique, unparalleled talent for a fictional arcade game called “Starfighter.” He isn’t the only one to recognize his gifts, however, as he earns a visit from the game’s inventor, an alien who designed “Starfighter” as a means of testing, recruiting, and training real pilots to fight in an actual intergalactic war taking place in the far reaches of outer space.
This film is the furthest from “A Minecraft Movie,” but it’s included on this list in terms of target audience, tone, genre, and style. Honestly, it’s arguably all the more worth mentioning because of this, as it successfully taps into the escapist fantasy “Minecraft” only vaguely approximates with its shoddy character writing, one where a true social outcast dreaming of more is given the chance to save the world. “The Last Starfighter” remains a classic for this reason, and it has aged so well in terms of its themes and concepts that sequel rumors persist to this day.
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The LEGO Movie

Warner Bros. Pictures

With its slapdash sense of humor, universal story, creative themes, and distinctly kid-friendly style, it was always obvious that, if there was one film “A Minecraft Movie” was trying to emulate most, it’s “The LEGO Movie.” Indeed, both films were built on premises that were, to put it bluntly, blatant cash-grabs. But what “The LEGO Movie” was able to create from these elements is far greater than anything “A Minecraft Movie” achieves.
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Yes, “The LEGO Movie” has block-based environments, building mechanics that allow the heroes to be limited only by their imaginations, and scores of pointedly generic bad guys that more-or-less work in service of a basic hero’s journey. However, these pieces ultimately build toward an unexpectedly insightful subversion of this archetypal story arc, parodying such tropes as “chosen one” prophecies, good guys and bad guys, and all-powerful MacGuffins. 
Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the writer-directors who were best known at the time for “21 Jump Street” and have since been responsible for Sony’s wildly successful “Spider-Verse” films) took the space they were given to imbue the film with a personality and sense of humor that far outshines those of most films made for kids, and they were further buoyed by a talented voice cast that includes Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, and Morgan Freeman.
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Smart, surprising, and stupidly fun, “The LEGO Movie” is the corporation-approved adventure comedy that’s actually worth your time. If you’ve already seen it and have yet to see its fairly decent sequel or its bafflingly triumphant “Batman” spin-off, do yourself a favor and make family movie night a “LEGO Movie” night.

Ready Player One

Warner Bros. Pictures

We aren’t too proud to admit that some movies — including a few moments of “A Minecraft Movie” — are fun because they bring back that childhood joy of dumping out all of your action figures and smashing them together in some epic battle only you could imagine. If you want all that youthful, indulgent chaos from a film with just a bit more on its mind thematically, we’d recommend “Ready Player One.”
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Chances are, the somewhat infamous reputation of “Ready Player One” has already reached you, whether or not you’ve seen the film for yourself. For some, the 2018 book-to-screen adaptation of Ernest Cline’s nerd-centric tome is remembered as a lightweight but fun adventure with nostalgia to spare. For others, it’s an alienating and jargonistic nightmare that also happens to be Steven Spielberg’s worst movie. But the best way to enjoy “Ready Player One” is to embrace the gaudy mess of it all, to sit back and appreciate the stupid splendor of so much shameless pop culture iconography being mushed together in a way that shouldn’t work.
Does seeing the pacifist Iron Giant fighting in a massive video game avatar war make any sense? Nope. Does it betray the original work’s intention? Absolutely. Yet perhaps because of how unrelenting and overt the movie’s almost cynical obsession with nostalgia is, his cameo has more of an impact than most of the characters featured in “A Minecraft Movie.” (And if you’ve already seen and enjoyed “Ready Player One,” you should check out the best movies that nail this brazenly geeky tone.)
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Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over

Dimension Films

This list is already full of great options for the whole family, but many of them came out so recently it’s likely they’re at the very least already on your radar. If you’re looking for a bit of a throwback that has a strangely similar vibe to “A Minecraft Movie,” look no further than “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.” Despite being the third film in Robert Rodriguez’s original “Spy Kids” trilogy, “Spy Kids 3-D” effectively acts as a standalone story that abandons the setting and original premise of the first two films. 
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After leaving the secret agency and becoming a private detective, teen crime fighter Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) is hired to investigate a virtual reality video game invented by a megalomaniac (Sylvester Stallone) for seemingly nefarious purposes. Though its visual effects definitely show the film’s age, “Spy Kids 3-D” is packed to the brim with Rodriguez’s wonderfully weird imagination and aesthetic. The film is uniquely structured like a video game, which gives him room to dramatically change environments and obstacles level-to-level. One scene might be a “Mad Max”/”Speed Racer” death race in a futuristic city, and the next might be a “Real Steel” robot boxing match on the moon.
Of course, we also have to mention the cast, an ensemble of actors that — and we’re not exaggerating — arguably rivals the star power of “Avengers: Endgame” in terms of 2000s movie stars (plus Glen Powell and Selena Gomez, both of whom make their feature film debut). It isn’t as engaging for adults as “The LEGO Movie” (or, for that matter, other family films we’ll talk about further down), but it’s a perfectly enjoyable option for family movie night nonetheless.
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Universal Pictures

Even if it often looks and feels like a Super Bowl ad for the PlayStation 4, we’ll give credit where it’s due and admit that “A Minecraft Movie” certainly looks like… well, a “Minecraft” movie. There’s something undeniably satisfying about seeing a video game world translated to and ever-so-slightly upgraded for a cinematic presentation, though we’d argue that “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” still has “Minecraft” beat in this regard.
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Not to be confused with the awful but interesting live-action ’90s disaster that the cast hated making, 2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is about as faithful as a video game adaptation can be, visually speaking. Say what you will about the plot, Illumination absolutely perfected the aesthetic of the Mushroom Kingdom, making it feel like a somewhat tangible environment without sacrificing any of the color, fantasy, or cartoonish whimsy that makes Mario’s world so super in the games. While its soundtrack is full of a dizzying amount of senselessly employed licensed Top 40s music, Brian Tyler’s original score remarkably transforms the game’s iconic music into sweepingly cinematic orchestrations. (It seriously might be one of the most memorable film scores of 2023 for this very reason.)
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Sure, it isn’t the most surprising film, and its attempts to find that “LEGO Movie” magic are similarly unsuccessful (despite miscasting Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as the Mario Bros. themselves). But “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is still a guilty treat for video game fans, and if “A Minecraft Movie” didn’t have enough singing Jack Black for you, this film has you covered as well.

TRON: Legacy

Walt Disney Studios

If you’re an older moviegoer looking for a film with similar themes that takes itself more seriously, “TRON: Legacy” is the video game epic for you. An appropriately titled legacy sequel to the 1982 film “TRON” starring Jeff Bridges, it tells a darker, more mature, but no less fantastical story about an outcast searching for answers in a virtual world. Decades after he invented the titular video game, Kevin Flynn (Bridges’ character from “TRON”) has vanished off the face of the Earth. His son Sam (Garrett Hedlund), disillusioned with his father’s company and haunted by the mystery of his disappearance, is transported in the vast, dangerous, neon-drenched virtual world where he must fight for his survival against a tyrannical artificial intelligence.
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Directed by future “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski and written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz of “Once Upon a Time,” “TRON: Legacy” is widely remembered as a grossly underrated sci-fi neo noir masterpiece, as well as one of the greatest legacy sequels of all time. The way it updates the original aesthetic of “TRON” creates an atmosphere that’s dazzling, arresting, and genuinely unsettling at times, a mix of emotions that’s also evoked by the film’s iconic score, which was composed by French music duo Daft Punk.
We were early champions of “TRON: Legacy” all the way back in 2010 and have continued to sing its praises into the 2020s. A sequel in the form of “TRON: Ares” has finally been filmed, and will be released in 2025.
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Wreck-It Ralph

Walt Disney Studios

Finally, we have what might be the gold standard for family-friendly video game movies: Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Wreck-It Ralph.” Though it isn’t based on a real-world video game, the 2012 adventure film shows so much love for the gaming lore and culture that we hailed it as one of the best video game movies ever made when it was released.
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If you missed it back then, “Wreck-It Ralph” imagines a hidden world within arcade machines where all your favorite video game worlds and characters are connected. More than a machine for generating nostalgia like “Ready Player One,” however, the film uses everything it reminds you about these games to explore something new in its titular character: a Donkey Kong-esque video game villain (voiced by John C. Reilly) who’s simply burnt out on being the bad guy. Though everyone around him — from “Street Fighter” baddie Zangief to Ralph’s heroic but kind nemesis “Fix-It” Felix (Jack McBrayer) — tries to convince him that playing his role and staying in his lane is what matters most, he bravely leaves the confines of his universe to discover new virtual worlds (and a new side of himself too).
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Like “The LEGO Movie,” “Wreck-It Ralph” has surprisingly strong ideas about the roles we cast ourselves as in our heads, as well as how we learn to love ourselves, even when it seems like we aren’t made to do anything good (its sequel expands on these ideas to a mostly-satisfying end). If “A Minecraft Movie” left you wanting more, “Wreck-It Ralph,” or any of the movies we listed above, have plenty in store.

Top 10 Upcoming Movies in April & May 2025: Full List of Major 2025 Upcoming Bollywood Releases

Your Complete Guide to 2025 Upcoming Movies: Bollywood, Hollywood, and April HighlightsCinema lovers, get ready! The year 2025 promises an exciting lineup of fresh content, star-studded blockbusters, sequels, and genre-defining films. Whether you’re tracking 2025 upcoming movies across Bollywood or watching out for 10 April upcoming movies from Hollywood, this year has something for everyone. This article takes a deep dive into the most awaited upcoming movies—focusing especially on upcoming bollywood movies 2025 and key releases in April. Our goal is to go beyond listing titles—we bring you curated insights, cast highlights, and industry buzz to help you pick what to watch and what to expect from upcoming movies in April 2025 and beyond. April 2025 Is Packed with Power: Bollywood Upcoming Releases When it comes to Bollywood upcoming movies 2025, April is shaping up to be one of the biggest months in Indian cinema. Here’s a detailed breakdown of confirmed titles and what makes each one buzz-worthy: April 15 – Teri Meherbaniyan Starring Vikas Kalantri and Tanvi Verma, this romantic action drama is a modern spin on the 1985 classic. Fans are eager to see how this upcoming bollywood movie blends nostalgia with a fresh narrative. April 18 – Kesari Chapter 2 Featuring Akshay Kumar and Ananya Panday, this sequel dives deeper into the post-Battle of Saragarhi legacy. It’s already trending under top 10 upcoming bollywood movies and promises patriotism, drama, and action. April 18 – The Bhootnii With Sanjay Dutt and Palak Tiwari in lead roles, this horror-comedy aims to blend supernatural thrills with mass entertainment. Among all upcoming bollywood movies in 2025, this one adds a quirky twist. April 20 – Kick 2 Salman Khan returns in this much-anticipated sequel. Fans are already calling it one of the top 10 upcoming bollywood movies of the year. Action, comedy, and masala-packed entertainment await. April 25 – Jewel Thief (Digital Release) A suspense thriller starring Saif Ali Khan and Jaideep Ahlawat, this OTT release is expected to dominate streaming platforms in late April. It’s also a notable mention among 10 April upcoming movies. April 25 – Ground Zero Emraan Hashmi and Sai Tamhankar headline this intense drama about a soldier’s mental and emotional journey. Among the bollywood upcoming movies 2025, this film is tipped to deliver powerful performances. Looking Ahead: Bollywood Upcoming Movies in May 2025 Though April steals the spotlight, the momentum continues into May. Here’s what’s expected: May 1 – Raid 2 The sequel to the 2018 hit, starring Ajay Devgn, is set to bring more suspense and courtroom intensity. Expected in May – Naisha A romantic thriller that’s generating early buzz due to its mysterious plot and fresh casting. Expected in May – Andaaz 2 A revival of a classic love triangle story, featuring an ensemble cast and modern storytelling. These titles reinforce why 2025 upcoming bollywood movies are among the most discussed in the global entertainment landscape. 10 April Upcoming Movies: Hollywood Joins the Big Release Window While Bollywood dominates April with a packed schedule, don’t overlook 10 April upcoming movies Hollywood has to offer. Major franchises, superhero sagas, and sci-fi adventures are also on the release calendar. Although specific titles are still under wraps, production houses like Marvel Studios, Warner Bros., and Universal are rumored to release trailers and titles soon. Expect high-budget films to collide with the Indian box office, making 10 April upcoming movies a competitive affair. This unique cross-industry excitement is why fans are keeping a close eye on april upcoming movies 2025. What Makes 2025 Upcoming Movies Worth Watching? One key highlight of upcoming movies 2025 is the diversity in genres. From period dramas like Kesari Chapter 2 to horror comedies like The Bhootnii, audiences are being offered more variety than ever. Big stars are returning with sequels, but new faces and indie gems are also earning their space in cinema halls and streaming services. For cinema lovers, this means better stories, higher production quality, and a wider choice of languages, themes, and formats. Whether you’re into action, romance, biopics, or horror, the upcoming movies in april 2025 and beyond are built to cater to every taste. Final Thoughts: Why You Should Track These Upcoming Bollywood Movies 2025 Tracking upcoming bollywood movies 2025 gives you an edge in conversations, weekend plans, and fan theories. Whether it’s planning your cinema outings or setting reminders for digital premieres, staying updated helps you never miss the next big hit. April is undoubtedly the most packed month, especially with 10 April upcoming movies on both Bollywood and Hollywood calendars. These movies not only entertain but also shape film culture, trends, and even fashion. Bookmark this news and share it with fellow movie lovers—it’s your go-to tracker for 2025 upcoming movies, especially those heating up the buzz in April.

Cristiano Ronaldo teases Hollywood movie, unveils film studio

Cristiano Ronaldo has ventured into filmmaking, announcing his partnership with Hollywood director Matthew Vaughn.
The Al-Nassr forward, who is also known for his business acumen, took to his official X account to share the update.
Vaughn is behind the popular Kingsman franchise, and his collaboration with the sports legend has birthed a new film studio. Related News
Matthew Vaughn
Ronaldo shared that the name of the studio is UR•MARV and teased fans and followers with the upcoming reveal of their first movie.
“… and action! I’m excited to announce UR•MARV, my new film studio with Matthew Vaughn, and can’t wait to tell you about our first movie. Coming soon!” the post reads.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the owner of the fashion brand CR7, the Pestana CR7 Hotels, other luxury hotels, clothing lines, accessories, and fragrances.

Review: ‘A Minecraft Movie’ is barely a movie

When critiquing a kids movie, you have to try to meet the film where it’s at. It would be strange and counterproductive to judge “A Minecraft Movie” using the same criteria as a best picture nominee, but that doesn’t mean it’s exempt from criticism. “A Minecraft Movie” sets out to be a movie that shows kids the value of creativity through the lens of the hit game, but it is woefully unsuccessful.
The central narrative of “A Minecraft Movie” is that of Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen), a recently orphaned kid moving to a small town under the care of his beleaguered sister. Henry is an awkward but smart boy who wants nothing more than to fit in with his new school, but is quickly chided for his creativity. The kids at school scoff at the nearly successful jetpack he makes on his first day at school, and he is quickly made a social outcast. The only solution to his problems is to go into the mystical Overworld of “Minecraft” to learn about the value of creativity and save the day. 
While this is technically the movie’s plot, it doesn’t really reflect the viewing experience of the movie, which is heavily dominated by Steve, who’s just Jack Black playing himself, and Garrett (Jason Momoa), a dude-bro former video game champion from the ’80s who spends most of the movie being generally standoff-ish to the rest of the cast. These two characters are funny enough, but go through so little character development and use up so much screen time that it’s impossible to see the narrative through them.
The main draw of the movie — the world of “Minecraft” — is in many ways also left by the wayside in service of comedy and convenience. “Minecraft” is a game about the process of building things and exploring just for the sake of it, which isn’t necessarily conducive to a feature film, so it would make sense that some new material would have to be created to make “A Minecraft Movie” work. Despite this, it’s shocking just how many erroneous elements are added to the movie, with many plot-relevant “Minecraft” objects, characters and mobs being original to the movie.
While this isn’t inherently problematic — “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is propelled largely by original material, and it’s probably the best family adventure movie of the decade — so many of these additions strip away the appeal of building and exploration. Conversely, the movie is now in favor of purely combat-oriented avenues, making it difficult to grasp why this script was even attached to the “Minecraft” property.
In addition to having very little interest in the mechanics and modes of play afforded by a game like its based off of, “A Minecraft Movie” doesn’t honestly commit to the value of creativity. There are no traps made from redstone, imaginative uses of game mechanics, exciting building scenes or even an instance of legitimate exploration. Instead, every problem is circumvented by a singular use of the crafting table, or using a diamond sword really well, or jumping on a slime block — nothing which actually conveys the game’s full potential.
While the film will try to make you believe it’s about creativity when Steve tells Henry that he’s being creative by knowing how to use a crafting table, its uses of creativity are limited to singular actions or glossed over in montage — because why would we want to take away from a sword fight? We don’t get to see the process of creativity, only its results, because “A Minecraft Movie” does not see creativity as a process, but rather the result of something inherent in you.
What makes all of this so problematic is that, while “A Minecraft Movie” is funny enough and will certainly get a kid to shut up for two hours, it can only function as a pacifier. I remember when “The Lego Movie” came out, and kids around me tinkered with Legos and constructed new things because of its concept of Master Builders. That narrative had similar goals to “A Minecraft Movie”: to advocate for creativity and advertise a product. But unlike “The Lego Movie,” “A Minecraft Movie” distracts with flashy fights, failing to encourage a commitment to learning and making new things. What’s going to be the takeaway for kids watching “A Minecraft Movie?” Chicken jockey? Flint and steel?
Contact Max Vetter at [email protected].

‘Hummus!’ film screening and tasting with Temple Beth-El and Gold Coast Arts

Temple Beth-El of Great Neck will present “Hummus! The Movie” with the Gold Coast Arts Center on Thursday, May 15, preceded by a culinary demonstration and tasting. Courtesy of Temple Beth-El
Temple Beth-El of Great Neck will present “Hummus! The Movie” with the Gold Coast Arts Center on Thursday, May 15, preceded by a culinary demonstration and tasting.

Chef Lenny Messina from Lola of Great Neck will teach attendees how to prepare hummus and will offer an appetizer tasting at 6:15 p.m. The film screening will begin at 7:15 p.m.
“Hummus! The Movie” follows three Israelis from very different backgrounds who are brought together by their love for a common dietary staple: hummus.
Weaving together their stories, director Oren Rosenfeld tastefully demonstrates how food can positively affect our culture—and is able to transcend religious and political divides.
Temple Beth-El, the peninsula’s oldest synagogue, and the Gold Coast Arts Center, the presenter of high-quality programs for two decades, formed a partnership that inspires and enriches Great Neck’s Jewish community through cultural arts, sparking creativity and deepening the appreciation of Jewish and Israeli heritage.

“Throughout the year, Temple Beth-El and the Gold Coast Arts Center present events, concerts, an art tour of the temple’s collection, programs about Israeli food, films and more,” said Regina Keller Gil, Gold Coast Arts Center founder and executive director.
All are welcome to attend this program of the Miriam & Moses Center for Pluralistic Jewish Learning, made possible through the generous support of the Susan Stumer Cultural Arts Fund. The fund was established in memory of longtime temple member and choir singer Susan Stumer to ensure that her love for the arts would continue for many years at Temple Beth-El.
“These events lead to social connections among the membership and an opportunity for Gold Coast Arts to share our resources,” Gil said. “The community is always welcome because we want this series to lead to greater interaction among all the residents throughout our community.”
General admission costs $25; the discounted rate for Gold Coast members is $22 and $18 for Temple Beth-El members. Register at tinyurl.com/TBEHummus.
Temple Beth-El is located at 5 Old Mill Road. Learn more at www.tbegreatneck.org, 516-487-0900 or info@tbegreatneck.org.
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The trade war is coming for America’s movies

In This StoryAs trade war tensions between the U.S. and China escalate, one of America’s most powerful exports is taking a hit — not soybeans or semiconductors, but stories.Suggested ReadingHow Trump’s tariffs could make your iPhone cost $3,500OffEnglishSuggested ReadingThe China Film Administration announced Thursday that it would begin reducing the number of American films shown in Chinese theaters, ABC News reports. The move was framed as a direct response to tariff pressures from President Donald Trump, whose administration has raised levies on Chinese imports to 145%, which includes duties that were implemented in February.AdvertisementChinese officials warned that the “abuse [of] tariffs on China” would erode the domestic audience’s favorability toward American films. When asked about China’s retaliatory restrictions, Trump responded: “I think I’ve heard of worse things.”AdvertisementThe entertainment industry gets its trade war cameoFor the American entertainment industry — long reliant on international markets, especially China — the escalating trade war isn’t a minor development. Even if movie studios avoid direct tariffs, rising tensions risk disrupting revenue streams in less obvious but meaningful ways: tighter import quotas, streaming restrictions, reduced merchandising opportunities, and delays or cancellations of international co-productions.AdvertisementThe downstream effects could be even more significant. When fewer people see a film overseas, the financial impact extends well beyond ticket sales. Lower visibility can weaken the broader commercial ecosystem built around popular intellectual property — including apparel, collectibles, licensing agreements, and theme park attractions. In an industry where audience exposure is closely tied to brand value, diminished global access can quietly constrain long-term growth. The U.S. media and entertainment sector is the largest in the world, valued at $649 billion out of a $2.8 trillion global market, according to PwC. The U.S. sector is projected to grow to $808 billion by 2028. That expansion depends heavily on access to foreign markets — especially China, which, in recent years, has become the world’s second-largest film market and a key territory in Hollywood’s international strategy.AdvertisementMajor U.S. studios rely on international release windows, localized marketing, and global licensing networks to maximize returns on blockbuster productions. China’s size, market growth, and influence have made it especially central to that model. With its regulators now citing tariffs as a rationale for cutting back on U.S. film imports, the risks to entertainment exports — and the industries that depend on them — are mounting.The Meg-alodon in the roomTake The Meg, the Jason Statham–led giant shark movie that became a global sensation in 2018. At first glance, it’s popcorn fare with a big budget and bigger teeth. But beneath the surface, it was a U.S.-China co-production designed to appeal to both markets. Backed by Warner Bros. (WBD) and China’s Gravity Pictures, the film wove in Chinese locations, Chinese talent, and cultural cues that resonated with Chinese audiences. The strategy paid off: Of the movie’s $530 million global box office haul, over $150 million came from China — more than any market besides the U.S.AdvertisementThe success of The Meg wasn’t a fluke. Its 2023 sequel, Meg 2: The Trench, repeated the playbook and opened to a stronger debut in China than in North America. Without that international boost, particularly from Chinese theaters, neither film likely would have cleared profit margins or justified their nine-figure budgets. Perhaps more importantly, the fact that the franchise exists at all speaks to how Hollywood increasingly develops projects with China in mind — often not just as a buyer, but as a partner.AdvertisementThese kinds of hybrid blockbusters are more than just movies. They’re proof of concept for a globalized entertainment economy, one that turns co-productions into cultural exports and box office success into licensing, streaming, and merchandising empires. When geopolitical tensions chill that flow, the impact reverberates beyond ticket sales — shrinking the canvas for big, border-crossing stories and forcing studios to rethink which projects are worth the gamble.AdvertisementDisney’s China connectionFew American companies exemplify the global reach of entertainment intellectual property (IP) like Disney (DIS). In 2023, Shanghai Disneyland attendance soared 164% as pandemic restrictions lifted, and in December, the park opened the world’s first Zootopia-themed land — built specifically for its Chinese audience. That’s not just branding; it’s strategic infrastructure investment designed to turn storytelling into international tourism, retail, and recurring revenue.AdvertisementBut the real commercial engine may lie in the merchandise. Disney’s Duffy and Friends toyline — which has a relatively quiet presence in the U.S. — has become a cultural phenomenon in Asia, generating hundreds of millions in revenue. Its breakout character, LinaBell, debuted in Shanghai in 2021 and quickly became a merchandising juggernaut. Fans line up for hours to meet her in costume, buy plush toys, and of course, post the pictures online.This is what IP monetization looks like when it works: characters becoming products, becoming attractions, becoming brand equity.AdvertisementDisney remains the world’s leading global licensor, with tens of billions in brand licensing every year. That includes everything from toys to clothes to lunchboxes — much of it reliant on cross-border partnerships and consumer demand in major overseas markets. When that flow is disrupted, the economic effects don’t show up all at once. But they do show up.AdvertisementEntertainment exposure isn’t just on screenThere are trade war implications for investors holding some of the biggest names in U.S. stocks. AdvertisementDisney, a Dow and S&P 500 heavyweight, is deeply exposed to shifts in foreign sentiment and market access — big enough, in fact, to drag the entire Dow lower when sentiment turns. Global players such as Sony (SONY), Comcast (CMCSA), and Netflix (NFLX) face similar risks, all relying on international licensing, co-productions, and streaming expansion to meet growth targets. Even tech giants such as Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) have tied their futures to entertainment, investing heavily in original content and global distribution. For all these companies, geopolitical flare-ups don’t need to trigger tariffs directly to do damage. Sentiment, access, and consumer goodwill are just as critical — and are potentially more fragile.AdvertisementThis week’s film quota crackdown could be a flashing yellow light. Chinese officials aren’t just signaling frustration with tariffs — they’re telegraphing a broader pushback against American “pressure and selfish gains.” Cultural retaliation often comes just before or hand in hand with harsher trade restrictions, but in a world where stories are exportable assets, even soft bans can leave a mark. Investors should tune in.