By Jeremy Fuster

This year has gotten off to a terrible first quarter, as laggard tentpoles like “Snow White” have not delivered and more mature titles like “Mickey 17” and “Black Bag” haven’t provided enough support. That leaves it to Warner Bros./Legendary’s “A Minecraft Movie” to provide some form of respite to theaters still waiting for the robust spring business they are used to.

The good news is that, at least for this weekend, it looks like they could get it. Pre-release projections are coming in at $70 million, with Warner keeping its projections slightly more conservative at $65 million. Exhibitors who spoke to TheWrap are very optimistic about the film and see a possible start of $80 million.