The Best and Most Successful Video Game Movies

Video game movies have come a long way since the days of Double Dragon: The Movie. Long treated as fodder for low-budget shlock, video games are poised to be the next big thing in Hollywood. It’s a good time to take a look at the best and most successful video game movies and what each of them brought to the table.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Worldwide Gross: $1,362,566,989

The critics may not have connected to Illumination’s adventure starring gaming’s biggest star, but it was a hit with general audiences. Is it better than the 1993 film? It’s certainly more faithful, and that appears to have been the right play.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Worldwide Gross: $491,603,986

Shadow the Hedgehog’s movie debut was every bit as explosive as his gaming one. The brilliant casting of Keanu Reeves as the voice of Sonic’s darker counterpart was the cherry on the top of this hilarious and heartfelt third chapter of the Sonic movie series.

Pokemon Detective Pikachu

Worldwide Gross: $450,062,638

No game franchise has had more movies than Pokemon, but Detective Pikachu was something different. It tried to show us how Pokemon might exist in our own world, and gave us the tonal whiplash of Deadpool voicing Pikachu.

Warcraft

Worldwide Gross: $439,048,914

Warcraft‘s setting presents a lot of storytelling opportunities, which is something the games have taken advantage of over the years. This film may not have lived up to critical or financial expectations, but it’s a cult favorite for many Warcraft fans.

Rampage

Worldwide Gross: $428,028,233

Rampage is the odd one out. In terms of popularity, the game hit its peak back in the 1980s. It hasn’t been relevant for a very long time. But the star power of Dwayne Johnson can carry a movie pretty far at the box office, and giant monsters smashing things can bring it the rest of the way.

Uncharted

Worldwide Gross: $407,141,258

While opinions run the gamut on the casting, Uncharted offers up the same sort of thrilling set pieces that made the games so popular. It’s fun popcorn fare that goes down easy, making for a good time even if Tom Holland doesn’t quite nail his Nathan Drake persona.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Worldwide Gross: $405,421,518

The controversy around Sonic’s design in the first movie resulted in a big last-minute course change. With lessons having been learned, this sequel was free to do things the right way from the get-go. Tails takes his sidekick position, Sonic meets Knuckles, and Jim Carrey’s Robotnik goes even more over the top.

The Angry Birds Movie

Worldwide Gross: $352,333,929

Angry Birds doesn’t provide much to work with for a feature-length movie, but Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation managed to put together a comedy that went over well with kids. Sometimes that’s all a movie needs to do.

A Minecraft Movie

Worldwide Gross: $343,902,117 (so far)

It’s still early days for Minecraft. It’s already a hit and will jump to second-place on this list before another week is out. Can it catch up to Mario? Time will tell, but “chicken jockey” has already carved its name in the meme history books.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Worldwide Gross: $336,365,676

Another movie that was meant to kick off a franchise but ended up just being a one-off, Prince of Persia adapts the 2003 reboot reasonably well. It even inspired a game, though it ended up breaking ties from the movie before release.

What’s your favorite video game movie? Let us know in the comments below!