Game-based movies are notoriously unpredictable, and filmmakers have grown skeptical about such projects. However, the success of recent productions like 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Five Nights at Freddy’s has reignited faith in the endeavor. While the former performed more than expected to become the second-highest-grossing movie of 2023, the latter raked in over $291 million against a production budget of $20 million.
These successful outings have ensured that video games remain a major destination for producers to source materials. Be that as it may, transiting from console to the big screen is still a dicey undertaking that must be carefully done. Serious filmmakers understand this and are often committed to creating meaningful expansions, unlike those who seem to be only interested in cashing in on a popular property. Below is a ranking of the biggest game-based movie flops.
7. Borderlands (2024)
Adapted from Gearbox Software’s eponymous looter-shooter action game, Borderlands is the most recent game-based movie flop in the list. The first Borderlands game debuted in 2009 and quickly became a franchise, spawning multiple sequels, spin-off games, and other forms of media. A film adaptation was commissioned in 2015 with Eli Roth at the helm, while Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Edgar Ramirez were engaged to star in the project.
Expectations were high, but the action epic failed to impress. The film was heavily criticized for being unoriginal and carefree, earning it a spot among the year’s worst movies. Borderlands also bombed at the box office. It grossed a mere $33 million against a production budget of $120 million.
6. Monster Hunter (2020)
Paul W. S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter isn’t a terrible movie. However, for a project that was in development for over seven years, fans expected much more than its appealing visuals and action sequences. Adapted from Capcom’s eponymous action role-playing video game, the movie struggled with coherence despite its interesting premise. It was released to mixed but mostly negative reviews, which probably influenced its box office performance. Monster Hunter was a commercial nightmare. It grossed $47.9 million against a production budget of $60 million.
5. House of the Dead (2003)
Uwe Boll enjoys adapting movies from video games, but his passion has mostly been a disappointing experience for gamers and moviegoers. It began with his decision to bring Sega’s The House of the Dead to the big screen in the early 2000s. His interpretation of the light-gun shooter game into a zombie-horror action film received negative reviews, just as it bombed at the box office. House of the Dead made only $13.8 million against its $12 million production budget, and bagged the 2004 Chainsaw Award for Worst Film. The overwhelming negative criticism didn’t deter the German filmmaker. He has adapted multiple games since then, most of which were equally memorable failures.
4. Alone in the Dark (2005)
Boll’s next adaptation after House of the Dead was Infogrames’ survival horror, Alone in the Dark. The action horror performed woefully critically and commercially, bagging a spot among the worst films ever made. Against a budget of $20 million, the movie raked in only $12.7 million at the box office. Every aspect of the movie was derided, with Boll winning the Stinkers Award for Worst Sense of Direction. Among other dishonorable awards, Alone in the Dark bagged the Stinkers’ Worst Picture, Least “Special” Special Effects, and Golden Schmoes’ Worst Movie of the Year.
3. Super Mario Bros. (1993)
Before Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie surpassed expectations and became the highest-grossing game-based movie of all time, a live-action adaptation of the Nintendo video game amounted to a historic disaster two decades earlier. The 2023 animated reimagination grossed over $1.3 billion to become one of the top-earners in box office history, but Super Mario Bros. managed only $38.9 million against its production budget of $48 million. Critics panned the movie so hard that Bob Hoskins, who played Mario, declared it his worst acting decision.
2. Far Cry (2008)
Also directed by Uwe Boll, Far Cry was adapted from Crytek’s eponymous first-person shooter game released in 2004. While the sci-fi action adventure was tolerable compared to his previous game-based films, critics, gamers, and movie lovers who have grown to despise Boll’s projects didn’t give it a chance. The movie received widespread negative reviews, which affected its box office performance. Far Cry grossed a nightmarish $753,264 against its production budget of $30 million.
1. BloodRayne (2005)
When Boll became interested in Terminal Reality’s action-adventure video game BloodRayne, fans were concerned it would end up like his previous video game movies. They were right. The third time wasn’t the charm for the German filmmaker, who won the Stinkers’ Worst Sense of Direction again and became the first director to win the loathed award twice in a row. Also the Stinkers’ Worst Picture of the year, BloodRayne grossed only $3.7 million at the box office against a production budget of $25 million. Check out the latest update on the Dead by Daylight film adaptation.
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