Highlights
- Video game movies are becoming box office successes in recent years.
- Releases from franchises like Mario, Minecraft, and Sonic dominate earnings signaling a shift towards family-friendly adaptations.
- Most successful video game movies perform well globally and not just in one key market.
Video game adaptations have moved from risky bets that underperform to reliable box-office hits. Studios now treat gaming IP as long-term franchises, backed by global fan bases and cross-media appeal. The results show in the numbers. Several recent releases have done well in terms of revenue and have earned positive reviews from both critics and fans.
This list ranks the highest-grossing video game adaptations by worldwide theatrical revenue. The numbers are not adjusted for inflation.
1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) – $1,361M
Illumination and Universal delivered a record-setting animated feature that turned Nintendo’s flagship franchise into a global theatrical event. The film captured the attention of both longtime Mario fans and newcomers to the franchise. Given how well the Mario games perform even on modern console platforms, it’s no surprise that fans of all ages flocked to watch the 2023 hit movie.
2. A Minecraft Movie (2025) – $961.2M
Warner Bros. adapted Mojang’s open-ended sandbox game into a structured cinematic story with A Minecraft Movie. The directors managed to keep the game’s creative spirit and delivered a movie that drew in nearly $1B in revenue. It is one of the only nonlinear games that have received a successful adaptation, with most successful adaptations coming from games that have rich lore to draw inspiration from.
3. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) – $492.2M
Paramount’s third Sonic movie was built on a formula that blends live-action with animated characters. The introduction of new faces from the game series catered to long-term fans without isolating anyone watching a Sonic movie for the first time. Sonic has continued to be a commercially relevant brand since 1991.
4. Warcraft (2016) – $439.1M
This large-scale adaptation of Blizzard’s franchise did not get the best critical reviews, but still performed well due to its popularity. It drew in fans from gaming communities like Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, World of Warcraft, and Warcraft 1-3. Despite its success, Blizzard has not revealed any plans for another movie.
5. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019) – $433.1M
Detective Pikachu was a grounded take on the franchise as it blended live-action environments with computer-generated graphics (CGI). It focused heavily on mystery elements and offered a different tone from other movies the brand has produced. Pikachu is one of the most recognizable fictional characters in history, and it drew in long-time fans from the Pokémon games, manga, and anime.
6. Rampage (2018) – $428M
Based on the cult classic arcade game of the same name, Rampage delivered a straightforward action click that focused heavily on environmental destruction. Even though the game does not have much lore to draw inspiration from, the movie performed well globally. It has quietly outperformed movies from significantly bigger franchises in the gaming industry like Prince of Persia and Uncharted.
7. Uncharted (2022) – $407.1M
Sony’s adaptation of its Uncharted video games received middling reviews from critics, but performed well at the box office. The film stayed true to the game’s location variety and treasure-hunting themes. Its box office success came largely from overseas markets and younger audiences discovering the franchise for the first time. Despite Sony not releasing a new Uncharted game since 2017, there is still a strong interest in the series.
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) – $405.4M
The second movie in the Sonic the Hedgehog series introduced humor and action while reinforcing themes that long-time fans associate the franchise with. With its release, it was clear that there was a strong fan following for anything related to Sonic. The games, movies, and cartoon series have all performed well since the 1990s.
9. The Angry Birds Movie (2016) – $352.3M
Sony’s animated adaptation of the viral mobile game Angry Birds was a surprise hit. There is not much lore associated with the game, and yet the directors managed to tell a fun story that resonated with fans. It is the only mobile video game adaptation that has broken into this list, and the franchise continues to draw fans since the original game’s release in 2009.
10. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) – $336.4M
The Prince of Persia film follows Ubisoft’s story about time manipulation and royal politics. The movie came during an era when adaptations focused on star casting to draw fans. Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Kingsley starred in the show and helped draw in fans. However, despite the impressive revenue numbers, the movie made a much smaller profit than some of the other entries on this list due to its massive production budget.
Video game adaptations are getting better, and there is a strong interest in them. Recent releases like A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie prove that some of the oldest gaming franchises in the world continue to draw fans of all ages.
