The Current State
After being derided for a long time, video game adaptations have become either commercially or critically successful works, with 2025 already being a great year for video game adaptations. A Minecraft Movie, released early last month, is already approaching a billion dollars in global box office after having become the center of online memes. The premiere of the second season of the show The Last of Us received over 5 million viewers, an increase over its last season.
Because of success stories like these, more and more studios have embraced these adaptations. A movie adaptation of Split Fiction, the hit game only released two months ago, is already in the works, with John M. Chu and Sydney Sweeney reportedly involved. Similarly, A live action movie of Nintendo’s popular Legend of Zelda franchise has been set for a March 2027 release date.
How Things Have Changed
While there are still the occasional critical and commercial duds, like the Borderlands movie or the Resident Evil Netflix series, in general, video game adaptations are in a much better spot than they were in the ‘90s or 2000s. The top 14 highest grossing films based on video games were all released in the last two decades, suggesting shifting industry mindsets regarding these adaptations and that the recent trend of successes over the past few years is not just a flash in the pan and is set to continue.
For the highest rated video game adaptations, it is the same story. Out of the top 15 highest rated films on Rotten Tomatoes, only one of them was released before 2010.
While there were a few successes before then, like the Tomb Raider adaptations starring Angelina Jolie, it was only in 2023, when the Super Mario Bros., Five Nights at Freddy’s, and The Last of Us adaptations first released to massive popularity, showing the highest potential of video game adaptations.
The Original Super Mario Bros. Movie
Many of the recent movies are not the first iteration of franchise adaptations. The 2023 animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with a sequel set to be released next year, is not the first movie based on the Super Mario Bros. franchise. That is Super Mario Bros., a 1993 live-action movie that featured significant departures from the lore of the game that was critically panned and had a troubled production. The colossal failure of that movie helped sour video game adaptations among the general public.
Because of the failure of the movie, Nintendo refused to license out the rights to their properties for the next 30 years. In many ways, the 2023 movie, which became the most commercially successful movie of 2023, might have saved and revitalized video game adaptations. A Street Fighter movie has been announced for March 2026. Much like Super Mario Bros., there was also a poorly received version released in the ‘90s. It remains to be seen if they can replicate Mario Bros. success.
The Future
With that said, maybe it is time to stop thinking of video games adaptations as a genre, now that more and more of them are being made each year. After all, we do not view movies or shows based on books or other mediums to be a specific genre, and the failure or success of one adaptation does not impact whether another one with a completely different story or tone is made. It is time video game adaptations are also treated with that same distinction.