Jack Black Probably Should Have Made More to Play Steve in 'A Minecraft Movie'

Few actors have proven to be more beloved by children than Jack Black. Over the past 20 years, Jack has made movie after movie aimed at younger audiences, and many of them have been hugely successful. The latest of those is A Minecraft Movie, which stars Jack as Steve, one of the adults in the cast alongside Jason Momoa and Emma Myers.

A Minecraft Movie earned more than $150 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend, which has led some to wonder how well Jack was compensated for his role in the film. Here's what we know.

Jack's salary for the film was reportedly $3 million, which is quite a bit less than the $12 million that Jason reportedly made for playing The Garbage Man. Those salaries are not top of the market, but it seems possible that they also negotiated some backend percentage of the movie's final gross, but we don't know exactly what that might have been.

Based on how much money A Minecraft Movie made in its opening weekend, though, it seems like Jack should have asked for a little more cash for his part in the movie. Given how many successes Jack has had at the box office over the years, though, it seems unlikely that he's struggling to make ends meet. Still, it's almost undeniable at this point that he's a draw for younger audiences, and he should probably be paid accordingly.

Although plenty of people were likely rolling their eyes when they heard that they were making a whole movie about Minecraft, it turns out that was a remarkably solid idea. A Minecraft Movie made $157 million at the domestic box office, per Variety, becoming the highest-grossing video game movie ever made. It breaks the record set by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which Jack Black also starred in.

The Mario movie went on to gross $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office and was the second-biggest hit of 2023. While we don't know whether A Minecraft Movie will have the same kind of legs, the movie's success speaks to the dearth of movie options aimed at young people at the multiplex today.

The movie's success also basically guarantees that we're going to get a sequel, and when we do, it seems likely that Jack will ask for a much higher salary if he returns. Sequels are where movie stars typically make their money, as it's when they have the most leverage over studios to make money off of the success of a first installment.

The movie's success also speaks to the dominance that Minecraft has over the culture more generally. This is the first time that the open-world game has been adapted to the big screen, but it's already an established brand. Now, it seems the future for the Minecraft universe is pretty bright.