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After viewing the work of art that is A Minecraft Movie and seeing the recent announcement of a Legend of Zelda movie being in the works, we at Production.ink have identified an upward tick in video game movie and television adaptations in recent years. With titles like Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (2024), Super Mario Bros (2023), and Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023), video game adaptations have become increasingly popular. These particular films (and many more like them) have struck gold in the box offices, competing and rivaling other animated productions by the likes of Disney and Pixar.
With more and more announcements of game-to-screen adaptations on the horizon, the emerging subcategory is definitely here to stay. But video games and subsequent adaptations are not completely new– so why now the sudden boomlet? This article will delve deep into the rise of video game adaptations, the keys to success in the subgenre, and look toward its future in the ever-evolving Film and Television industry.
Mass Appeal
There are a few key reasons why the film industry has turned to producing game-inspired projects in recent years. One major attraction is the pre-existing establishment of both IPs and fanbases. In the gaming world, an IP (intellectual property) refers to a game's creative assets: characters, setting, storyline, music– the unique characteristics that make the game what it is. In short, a video game’s IP is its brand– the visuals, audio, and functions that gamers recognize as belonging to a certain game. When a video game expands into a universe, lumping various games and editions, the IP of the game remains consistent.
For example, Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. has one of the most robust and popular gaming universes on the market– with spin-offs like Mario Kart, Smash Bros, or mobile app editions all under its IP umbrella. Gaming universes like these that have amassed huge, loyal fanbases spanning decades appeal to the film industry the most. Loyal fanbases tend to support any content, branding, games, and experiences which relate to the IP of the gaming universe they love– from buying stuffed toys of their favorite characters, to purchasing new editions of their favorite games. Whenever something “new” is released, loyal fans open their wallets, regardless of the product being offered. And thus, a blockbuster movie featuring iconic characters like Mario and Princess Peach, and unlocking new storylines from their favorite games, is expected. This built-in audience of sure customers is extremely appealing to production companies. If they know that, regardless of age-range or quality, a certain estimated number of people will show up to the box office for a film, how could they not jump at the opportunity? Combined with fanbase loyalty, the recognizability and branding of these pre-existing IPs also lend themselves to new viewers– people who may not know and love the game to the extent of loyal fans, but who choose to see the film because of its association with the popular game.
So if game-to-screen adaptations should always be dynamite, why has the industry really dug in to capitalize now?
Video game-to-screen adaptations have not always done well. Adaptations can be traced to the early 1990s, but most didn’t perform well at the box office, or are simply not memorable. Due to the universal disapproval of these films, production companies and game developers temporarily stopped the quest altogether. Of course, there were the occasional attempts, such as The Angry Birds Movie (2016) and Tomb Raider (2018), but such attempts were lackluster, received mixed reviews from critics, and left audiences unimpressed. This began to shift when Warner Bros released Detective Pikachu in 2019 which was faithful to the underlying game and was generally well received by fans. It grossed $450 million worldwide. Finally, Hollywood saw that video game adaptations could both survive and thrive at the box office. This first true success sparked a trend that is still growing exponentially, with projects like A Minecraft Movie, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Devil May Cry, and so much more.
Making a Successful Adaptation
One lesson we have gleaned is that the most important ingredient in a successful adaptation is remaining faithful to the integrity of the game. The most crucial misstep of the early failed productions was that they completely misunderstood, misinterpreted, or misrepresented the source material. The adaptations altered story-beats, mischaracterized fans’ beloved characters, or got crucial information wrong, offending and upsetting fans and causing the movies to flop after a decent opening weekend. Following the playbook of Detective Pikachu’s success, producers began to focus on making adaptations that were significantly more faithful to the game. For example, the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie was incredibly faithful to the games. The characters were portrayed exactly how they were in the games, the film captured the heart of the story more accurately, and even sprinkled a “easter eggs” throughout the movie for dedicated fans to find. This pattern is shown for other successful adaptations, including Super Mario Bros. (2023), Uncharted (2022), and even television shows like Fallout (2024) or HBO's The Last of Us (2023).
To ensure an adaptation is faithful, it's important to understand why fans love the game in the first place– even if every single detail is not maintained from game to screen, or if new storylines are being explored. This requires close collaboration with the game developers– similar to an author’s consultation on a book-to-screen project. Most of the time, the developers of the game will also have some control over making the film, and good writers, directors, and producers know to take their feedback and criticism seriously. That being said, there may be some aspects of the game that simply do not translate– it’s crucial for production to find the right balance between improving the IP for screen, while maintaining the elements that define the game, and have garnered its success in the first place.
Rights Agreements For Video Game Adaptations
The process of obtaining the film rights for video games is similar to the process of obtaining the rights for books or other IP. However, due to the nature of video game properties, certain aspects need to be considered when making agreements:
In addition to sequels and spin-off titles, games are constantly updated with add-ons, expansions, new designs, etc. Games could be drastically different from when they were first released. It is important for buyers to understand what it is they are actually acquiring: Does this agreement include all of the expansions, iterations and versions of the main game? Does the agreement give them the rights to any sequels or spin-offs? And if so, what versions or expansions of those games?
Video games can be more complicated when it comes to ownership/approval issues. Most of the time, the games being adapted are owned and controlled by the game’s publisher (e.g., Sony or Nintendo). However, sometimes, the creator/developer of the game owns and controls it. The latter often only refers to indie titles like Five Nights at Freddy’s, Cuphead, or Hello Neighbor, all games with movie/TV show adaptations. However, despite who owns it, it may be more difficult to get the rights holder to enter into any agreement due to fear of the movie/TV show tarnishing their brands. This fear is mainly because of the adaptations from the 90s/early 2000s, like Super Mario Bros. (1993) or Doom (2005).
Video games have become an integral part of our culture, bringing discussions, experiences, and bonding moments for people around all around the world. Video games are a universal experience, not limited by language or space games can be played anywhere in the world. With video games finally being realized for their adaption potential, Hollywood is taking the time to produce high quality works for loyal and new fans to enjoy for years to come.
