We've got big box office news for Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's animated spin-off, Minions, which opened in the U.K. to record-breaking success. On the less expensive side of things, Genndy Tartakovsky's Samurai Jack makes a brief re-appearance in a short, CG fan film. And, of course, more news from Attack on Titan.

 

Minions U.K. Debut Busts Box-Office Record

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Universal Pictures has had a monster summer so far with Jurassic World, but another of the studio's properties has toppled the King of the Mountain in its U.K. debut. Minions, the animated family film featuring the lovable oddball characters from the Despicable Me movies, opened in Britain to $18.2 million. As THR reports, this was just enough to edge out Toy Story 3's 2010 debut of $18 million, without even considering inflation adjustments. This should make Universal and Illumination Entertainment happy considering the U.S. debut of the animated film is coming on July 10th.

Samurai Jack Goes 3D with CG Fan Film

The above Samurai Jack fan-film comes from the efforts of Ave Espelita (aka Avemagnadude), who put together the CG test teaser of the title character over the course of four months. Created using the CG software Blender, this short sequence takes Jack out of his two-dimensional prison and places him in a 3D environment, but manages to keep the minimalist, masking style of animation that made the original series such a stand-out. Hopefully this catches Tartakovsky's attention and rekindles his interest in bringing Samurai Jack to the big screen in order to conclude the wandering warrior's epic adventure. Hat tip to Cartoon Brew for bringing this one to my attention.

'Attack on Titan' Live-Action Movie Lands North American Distribution

Now there's that trailer for the live-action Attack on Titan movie I talked about last week! The good news is that Funimation Entertainment has acquired the North American rights for the two-movie adaptation; the films will also be distributed to Central and South America. As CBR reports, Funimation has also partnered with Tohi Co. to bring the first Attack on Titan movie to L.A. for its July 14th premiere before the film debuts in Japan on August 1st. Director Shinji Higuchi will attend the red-carpet premiere along with film stars Haruma Miura and Kiko Mizuhara, who play Eren and Mikasa. The second film, Attack on Titan: End of the World, debuts September 19th in Japan. The bad news? No date has been announced for North American distribution.

 

'Minecraft: Story Mode' Trailer and Voice Cast Revealed

Did you recognize any of the voices in the trailer for the upcoming episodic game, Minecraft: Story Mode? Well, as ScreenRant reports, this weekend's MineCon 2015 saw the reveal of this trailer and the game's voice cast. Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Ashley Johnson, Scott Porter, Martha Plimpton, Dave Fennoy, Corey Feldman, Billy West, and Paul Reubens star; Oswalt plays Jesse, the game's protagonist and the character controlled by the player.

Here are the particulars from Mojang/Telltale Games's Minecraft: Story Mode:

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Image via TellTale games

Minecraft: Story Mode is an adventure game, by Telltale Games, set in a Minecraft world. It is a five-part episodic series that will take you to the Nether, the Farlands, the End, and beyond! You will drive how the story flows through the decisions you make: what you say to people (and how you say it), and what you choose to do in moments of thrilling action.

 

Players will control protagonist Jesse throughout the season, as portrayed by actor Patton Oswalt. Jesse and his group of friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone; four adventurers who slayed an Ender Dragon. The Order is the very best at what they do: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect. While at EnderCon, Jesse and his friends discover that something is wrong... something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and they must set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion.

 

Available to download soon for PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, compatible iOS devices, and Android.

Minecraft developer Mojang also announced the July 29th release of "Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta." If you already have the PC edition/Java version, you'll be able to download the new Beta for free from the Windows 10 store. If not, you can pick it up for $10 but the time frame for this price point is limited and as of yet, no end date has been set. Head over to Mojang to check out some of the highlights of the Windows 10 beta Edition.

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Image via Mojang