Mario is returning to the big screen. Following the massive success of, which made more than $1.3 billion worldwide in 2023, animation studio Illumination and Nintendo are releasing a sequel,, in April 2026. Nintendo dropped a teaser trailer during its Direct presentation on Friday. The teaser doesn't offer much about the movie, which takes its name from the 2007 platformer.Mario dozes in a field before title credits appear, that's about it. But the trailer still signifies that Nintendo will continue to churn out films aimed at turning Mario into a megafranchise .

"A Minecraft Movie," the big-screen adaptation of the popular video game "Minecraft," has been packing theaters with rowdy kids and teens since its release this month, spurring a social media phenomenon and sparking concern for America's youth. Videos on social media show young theatergoers huge reactions to one key scene, where one of the film's stars, Jack Black, yells out the phrase "Chicken Jockey!" as a small, Frankenstein-looking creature lands on top of a chicken in a boxing ring to face off with co-star Jason Momoa. The scene has prompted excited fans to scream, shout, throw popcorn around, jump up out of their seats, and in one instance in Provo, Utah, toss a live chicken in the air during a screening, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, Georgia, told FOX 5 Atlanta that its staff has had to clean up popcorn, ICEEs, ketchup and shattered glass. The scene featuring the "Chicken Jockey" in "A Minecraft Movie" has spawned some chaotic movie theater behavior from young audiences. "The movie-going experience has changed a lot since I was younger," Josh Gunderson, director of marketing and events at Oviedo Mall in Florida, told FOX Business.

It was natural that the recent boom in video game adaptations would yield a new film based on the best-known virtual universe of the modern era. Minecraft, the Microsoft-owned digital sandbox that holds the record as the bestselling video game of all time, is finally taking its place in the annals of beloved gaming franchises--like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog--that have earned the Hollywood studio treatment, celebrity stars and special effects and all. Helmed by Napoleon Dynamite director and friend of Slate Jared Hess, A Minecraft Movie throws Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, and Jennifer Coolidge into the titular game's pixelated universe, subjecting their real-life bodies to the simplistic physics, creative engineering, and bizarre supernatural life forms that make up the expansive worlds of Minecraft. It took about a decade to get this flick off the ground, so the anticipation is high--especially among younger gamers addicted to the online playgrounds that gained such traction during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Already, the film is breaking box-office records held by previous game adaptations, and if you have a child who spends a lot of time playing on the computer, chances are they're definitely ready and excited to catch A Minecraft Movie--even if you barely know what Minecraft is.

I too rolled my eyes when A Minecraft Movie was announced. We're all tired of seeing Jack Black in video game movies -- he was fine in Super Mario Bros., but good god Borderlands was a disaster. And the Minecraft film's trailers did it no favors, another soulless movie produced on a virtual set about a game that's completely open-ended and plotless. But it turns out A Minecraft Movie is actually good. Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are.

Nothing makes you feel older than watching someone two generations younger than you play Minecraft – except, perhaps, watching someone two generations younger watching someone else play Minecraft on YouTube. Why are they always so over-excited?) This might all seem a bit 2011: gen A have generally moved on to watching YouTubers play Fortnite, Roblox and Elden Ring with their minds instead. But there are still millions of people, most of them kids, playing every month, and there's powerful nostalgia for this blocky virtual-Lego game among the gen Z young adults who grew up with it. A Minecraft movie was inevitable.

Jack Black is reportedly set to play Minecraft Steve. Deadline wrote on Tuesday that the School of Rock actor will play the game's blocky protagonist alongside Jason Momoa in the game's long-delayed film adaptation. The Minecraft adaptation has been in development since 2014. It's cycled through at least three previous directors (Shawn Levy, Rob McElhenney and Peter Sollett) and two missed release windows (2019 and 2022). Its current target date is April 4, 2025.

Marva Bailer, a tech executive, author, and speaker, shares why utilizing AI may be more expensive than physical actors. "Super Mario Bros." star Jack Black is feeling positive about the future with artificial intelligence, even with lingering concerns over the technology in the industry. "It's so new that it's hard to really say what the future holds, but I don't have all doom and gloom," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I don't feel like, 'Oh no, it's going to be like Terminator where it comes and destroys all the human jobs.' I'm not convinced about that because I can admit, I don't know, and I'm hoping that it's going to be a great new world and that it's going to be a tool that all of us can use to make ourselves better and make the world better."

Pratt, Charlie Day and Jack Black on new animated film, playing iconic characters, being fans of the game, and more. Chris Pratt had another box office success this weekend with the release of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." Box office estimates released Sunday showed the Universal Pictures film grossed $146 million domestically across more than 4,300 theaters. In addition, the movie adaptation of the popular Nintendo video game earned another $173 million internationally, marking a worldwide total of $377 million. "Mario Bros." massive success broke records for video game adaptations (passing "Warcraft's" $210 million) and animated films ("Frozen 2's" $358 million), making it the biggest opening of 2023 and the second-biggest three-day domestic animated opening (behind "Finding Dory").

During Thursday's latest Nintendo Direct event, acclaimed video game designer Miyamoto Shigeru announced that the company's upcoming feature length animation project -- in conjunction with American film studio, Illumination -- now has a firm North American theatrical release date of December 21st, 2022. "Here we go!" Chris Pratt as Mario Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach Charlie Day as Luigi Jack Black as Bowser Keegan-Michael Key as Toad Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike Cameos from Charles Martinet pic.twitter.com/Yio2pql1Jy While release dates for Europe, Japan, and other markets have yet to be revealed, Miyamoto did share the studio's key character casting decisions. Chris Pratt will voice Mario. "He's so cool," Miyamoto commented.

If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. However, our picks and opinions are independent from USA TODAY's newsroom and any business incentives. Every year when Father's Day rolls around, you may begin thinking, "What did I give to Dad last year? Let's see, one year it was the golf club, last year it was the polo shirt," and that's when you realize that you're fresh out of new gift ideas. We've rounded up 20 unique, handy, and even hip gifts to give to dads of all ages and interests, and each item is priced under $50, so you don't have to break the bank to get him a gift he'll love.