For years, Hollywood relied on a steady stream of comic book adaptations to power the box office and draw audiences in.
But as superheroes have faltered, studios are scrambling to figure out what’s next. Is it video games?
That’s the bet several studios — including the newly re-capitalized Paramount — are making, particularly because games have a built-in fanbase and appeal to younger audiences.
With Paramount and Santa Monica-based video game publisher Activision’s recent deal to adapt “Call of Duty” for the big screen, new media mogul David Ellison is looking to capture the zeal of its die-hard fans along with the interest of those who’ve never heard of the first-person-shooter game.
“Call of Duty” joins a long list of video game adaptations, particularly in the last few years, when gaming properties including “The Last of Us,” “Twisted Metal,” “Minecraft” and “Super Mario Bros.” have all hit screens.
“It’s going to be just another avenue of source material, the same way comic books were,” said Roy Lee, producer of several video game adaptations, including “A Minecraft Movie,” “Until Dawn” and the upcoming reboot of “Resident Evil.” “It’s going to be considered more viable than it has been in the past.”
Recently, film adaptations of video games have proved to be big business.
The top-grossing adaptation ever is 2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” from Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment and Nintendo, which garnered more than $1.3 billion in global box office revenue, followed by this spring’s surprise hit “A Minecraft Movie,” which hauled in almost $958 million worldwide. In third place is 2024’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” from Paramount Pictures, which raked in $492 million, according to data from industry newsletter FranchiseRe.
One connecting thread among these three films is that they did well with families, a key audience for studios and theater owners.
“An enormous advantage is that these do have broad appeal,” said David A. Gross, who writes the FranchiseRe newsletter. “The real strength is this combination of virtual reality, some live action and animation. When it’s done well, it stretches the imagination and tickles the funny bone.”
But it’s not just family films that break through. The 2023 cult horror hit “Five Nights at Freddy’s” scored with Gen Z, bringing in $291 million.
Tapping into the video game industry is not a new phenomenon — after all, the first, though widely panned, film adaptation of the Nintendo game “Super Mario Bros.” was released in 1993.
For years, video game adaptations were viewed almost as a running joke in Hollywood.
The films were roundly criticized. Gamers found they bore little resemblance to the original titles, while unfamiliar audiences rejected them. Video games ended up falling into the same category as toys and board games, all seen as properties that weren’t serious propositions for the screen.
Now, that’s all changed. In an era when the decades-old Barbie doll is a billion-dollar box office hit and shows like HBO’s “The Last of Us,” based on the Naughty Dog game, and Amazon MGM Studios’ “Fallout,” based on the Bethesda game franchise, are critically acclaimed, studios see all of these as intellectual property worth mining.
The kids who grew up playing games like “The Last of Us” and “Resident Evil” are now the ones helming these adaptations and translating their enthusiasm for those titles to the screen, filmmakers and production executives say.
Ellison noted his love of the “Call of Duty” franchise in Paramount’s announcement of the Microsoft-owned Activision deal, calling the chance to adapt it “a dream come true” in a statement.
The Activision deal continues Ellison’s deal-making spree since he took over ownership of the legacy studio. The company, which is in dire need of more film franchises, has inked deals for lucrative UFC media rights and “South Park” and lured away “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer from Netflix.
On Thursday, Paramount also announced a multi-year global distribution deal with Legendary Entertainment, the first film of which will be an adaptation of the classic arcade game “Street Fighter.”
Finding the right filmmaker who respects and understands a franchise is key for PlayStation Productions.
The small production team, which works on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, focuses on developing and producing film and TV projects based on Sony games, including 2022’s “Uncharted” and 2023’s “Gran Turismo.” Up next is a series adaptation of the popular “God of War” franchise, which was a top priority for PlayStation Productions and will be distributed by Amazon.
The keys to a successful adaptation that appeals to both fans and broader audiences is “respecting the medium and then using the source material as a guide versus a rule book,” said Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions.
“Video games are so much more prevalent in common pop culture now,” he said. “What that does is it helps to de-risk film and TV projects for a lot of studios.”
It doesn’t hurt that video games also attract a coveted younger audience. Seven of the top 10 entertainment franchises that Generation Alpha moviegoers care about are video game properties, according to a recent report by National Research Group.
Those include “Fortnite,” “Minecraft,” Roblox and “Pokémon,” all of which originated from video games. The highest-ranked non-video game property was Walt Disney Co. and Marvel’s “The Avengers,” at No. 6.
Today’s games also have more cinematic qualities than in the past, with overarching storylines and detailed world-building. “Call of Duty,” for example, has released a game every year since its start in 2003, which gives many avenues for filmmaking.
“I’m surprised it took this long,” said Steve Granelli, a teaching professor of communication studies at Northeastern University, of a “Call of Duty” adaptation. “I’ve thought it was one of the most cinematic games I’ve ever played. There’s a lot about it that lends very well to film.”
The franchise also boasts a massive audience. “Call of Duty” has sold more than 500 million copies, with hundreds of millions of players worldwide.
Paramount has a track record with video game adaptations. The studio has produced three “Sonic the Hedgehog” films from the Sega property that have received solid critical reviews and attracted gamers and a broader audience.
The three films, which feature Jim Carrey as the villainous Doctor Eggman, alongside animated characters, grossed a combined $1.2 billion.
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