After the release ofA Minecraft Movie, it is clear that we’re finally in the golden age of video game films. This has been a long journey, asvideo game filmsfailed to resonate with audiences for many years. Video games can often be very hard to adapt into movies, since they are usually much longer than films and told at a completely different pace. However, several recent video game movies have found immense success, proving that they are not always impossible to adapt.
For example,the recently releasedA Minecraft Moviehas been a huge successat the box office. As of this writing,A Minecraft Moviehas made $570 million at the worldwide box office (viaBox Office Mojo). Even thoughreviews forA Minecraft Moviehave been mixed, it continues to attract huge audiences to theaters all over the world. In addition toA Minecraft Movie, which has been in development since 2014, many other recent video game movies have been major box office successes.These movies prove thatwe have entered the golden age of video game films.
A Minecraft Movie Is Another Major Video Game Movie Success Story For Hollywood In The 2020s
Video Game Movies Have Thrived At The Box Offive In The 2020s
Even thoughA Minecraft Movieonly came out about two weeks ago, it has already become the second highest-grossing video game movie of all time. The film, which stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa, isn’t losing any momentum at the box office, and could even potentially pass the $1 billion mark. Currently,the highest-grossing video game movie of all time is 2023’sThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. While it is unknown ifA Minecraft MoviewillpassThe Super Mario Bros. Movieat the box office, they are undoubtedly both huge successes.
A sequel toThe Super Mario Bros. Movieis currently in development, and given its box office success,it’s likely thatA Minecraft Movie 2will also be greenlit soon. This means that the golden age of video game films is just getting started, as both of these sequels will definitely attract huge audiences to theaters. However,A Minecraft MovieandThe Super Mario Bros. Movieare not the only two video game films that have experienced immense box office success in recent years.
In addition to these two properties,Five Nights at Freddy’sdid very well at the box office when it came out in 2023. Additionally, 2022’sUnchartedperformed well at the box office, proving that it has franchise potential. Furthermore, theSonic the Hedgehogmovieshave been loved by fans all over the world and have already formed into a major Hollywood franchise. 2024’sSonic the Hedgehog 3is by far the highest-rated entry in the series, which proves that video game films are only getting better.
Hollywood Struggled With Video Game Movies For A Long Time
A Lot Of Video Game Movies Have Been Failures
It feels amazing to be excited about video game movies again, as Hollywood struggled to adapt some of the most popular games for years.For a long time, it felt like video game adaptations were cursed, since they all received horrible ratings from critics, and usually weren’t liked by audiences either. This all started with 1993’sSuper Mario Bros., the failed live-action adaptation of the iconic video game. This was the first video game movie that failed to resonate with critics and audiences, but it definitely wasn’t the last.
In the late 2010s, it seemed like a good video game adaptation would never come out.
To name a few more examples,theMortal Kombatmovies from the 90s failed to recapture the magic of the games, the inclusion of Angelina Jolie couldn’t save theTomb Raidermovies from the early 2000s, and all theResident Evilmovies have “Rotten” ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. While some of these films managed to make a respectable amount of money, none of them were box office juggernauts likeA Minecraft MovieandThe Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Heading into the 2010s,video game movies likeNeed for Speed,Warcraft, andAssassin’s Creedwere all panned by critics. These are all based on some of the most popular video games of all time, but none of these films could capture what fans loved about the games. Therefore, in the late 2010s, it seemed like a good video game adaptation would never come out. However, thankfully, this all changed in the 2020s.
Most Modern Video Game Movies Still Have Room To Get Better
Many Video Game Movies Still Receive Negative Reviews
Even though I believe we have entered the golden age of video game movies, this is not to say that many of the aforementioned films could still be better. While films likeA Minecraft MovieandThe Super Mario Bros. Moviewere both huge successes at the box office, they both have underwhelming Rotten Tomatoes scores. Most of the aforementioned video game movies from the 2020s have been a hit with audiences, but have failed to win over critics.
This is whySonic the Hedgehog 3’sscore of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes is an amazing sign for the future of video game movies. The thirdSonicmovie proved that it is possible to make a silly video game film that can win over both audiences and critics. Hopefully future video game films, such asA Minecraft Movie 2,The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, and theupcomingFive Nights at Freddy’s 2will be better than their predecessors and receive higher ratings from critics.
A Minecraft Movie’s Success Will Only Encourage More Video Game Movies
A Lot Of Video Game Movies Will Come Out In The Next Few Years
In addition to the sequels to the aforementioned films that have found success at the box office,A Minecraft Movie’simpressive box office haul will definitely encourage studios to make more video game movies. There are manypopular video games that need a live-action movie, such asRed Dead Redemption,Mass Effect, andMetroid. While it would have once been a major risk to adapt any of these games,A Minecraft Movie’ssuccess proves that it is no longer the case.
Not only isA Minecraft Movieone of the most popular video game movies of all time, it is definitely going to be one of the highest-grossing films of 2025. Even though it doesn’t have glowing reviews,because ofA Minecraft Movie’sbox office dominance, it can’t be denied that we are in the golden age of video game films. Therefore, afterA Minecraft Movie, I’m hoping that many more video game films are greenlit in the coming years.
