Just two weeks ago, it was all doom and gloom for Warner Bros. The 102-year-old movie studio was smarting from a string of high-profile flops that included "Joker: Folie à Deux," "Mickey 17," and "The Alto Knights," and was desperate for its big spring release, "A Minecraft Movie," to reverse its box office fortunes. Though tracking for the film, based on the enormously popular sandbox video game from Mojang Studios, was trending upward heading into the April 4 weekend, the studio seemed less than confident given reports that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was taking meetings with potential replacements for embattled production chiefs Michael DeLuca and Pamela Abdy. "A Minecraft Movie" was, stem-to-stern, their project. If it fell short of expectations, they would've been out on their ear.

There were uncertainties as to what number "A Minecraft Movie" would have to clear to be considered a bona-fide blockbuster, but, rest assured,...