Louise Blain, a creative lead at Blumhouse Games, recently told Empire Magazine that people’s attitudes towards video game movies have dramatically changed. She noted that the phrase “video game adaptation” isn’t automatically met with negativity anymore. This marks a turning point for the industry, as these movies are now often financially successful. However, box office numbers don’t always guarantee good reviews. The Minecraft Movie, for example, earned an impressive $961 million worldwide—making it the second-highest-grossing video game film ever—but received mixed reviews, with a 46% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This highlights a common pattern: well-known brands can attract large audiences even if the story itself isn’t particularly strong.
Lately, we’ve seen a lot of successful video game adaptations on TV, with shows like Arcane, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and Fallout gaining both critical acclaim and a large audience. However, video game movies haven’t improved as much, meaning there aren’t many truly great ones. Because of this, it’s difficult to create a list of the ten best video game movies – you have to be willing to overlook some flaws.
10) Warcraft
The 2016 film Warcraft didn’t receive much praise from Western critics. Directed by Duncan Jones, it tried to fit the complex history of the Warcraft universe into one story, focusing on the war between humans, led by Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel), and the Orcish Horde. Critics found the plot confusing and the movie’s pace uneven, resulting in a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite this, the film is remembered for its impressive use of motion-capture technology, which brought the orcs to life with stunning realism – a visual achievement few other adaptations have equaled. This commitment to the game’s look helped Warcraft earn over $439 million worldwide, and a particularly strong performance in China prevented it from being a box office failure. Although the movie doesn’t capture all the nuances of the original game, Warcraft stands out for its technical skill and its faithfulness to the epic, high-fantasy world it portrays.
9) Five Nights at Freddy’s
Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s features Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt, a security guard working at a rundown, and haunted, family entertainment center. Critics weren’t impressed with the movie, finding it overloaded with backstory and lacking in genuine scares, giving it a 33% approval rating. However, the film was a huge commercial success, earning $297 million despite only costing $20 million to make. This success is likely due to its faithfulness to the original game, and the use of practical animatronics created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which helped create a truly immersive experience for fans. While the story can feel confusing and is primarily aimed at those already familiar with the game, the movie does a great job of capturing the tense, claustrophobic feeling of the original Five Nights at Freddy’s game, making it one of the better video game adaptations in recent years.
8) Resident Evil
The 2002 film Resident Evil launched a hugely successful video game movie franchise. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the movie stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, who finds herself in an underground research lab swarming with the deadly T-virus. While critics initially didn’t love the film’s shift away from the scary, survival-focused gameplay of the original PlayStation games—pointing to predictable action and weak characters—it still found an audience. Resident Evil stood out with its unique blend of technology and horror, differentiating it from other zombie movies at the time. This vision proved popular, earning over $103 million worldwide and leading to five sequels. Though it shows its age with early 2000s music and CGI, the film’s consistent internal rules and Jovovich’s strong performance have cemented its place as a memorable, if imperfect, cult classic.
7) Mortal Kombat (1995)
For a long time, the 1995 movie Mortal Kombat was seen as the best example of how to successfully adapt a fighting game into a film. The story follows Liu Kang and Johnny Cage as they compete in a magical tournament to save Earth. Director Paul W.S. Anderson embraced the over-the-top, energetic style of the original arcade game, creating a movie that felt like a loving tribute rather than just a way to make money. Despite criticisms about the simple plot and now-dated special effects, the film’s memorable music and exciting fight scenes brought in $122 million at the box office. This was important because it showed that a movie based on a video game could be a real success without turning off its fans. Even though the 2021 remake had better visuals, the 1995 version still stands out for its strong storytelling pace and its ability to capture the exciting feel of gaming in the early 1990s.
6) Gran Turismo
The 2023 film Gran Turismo isn’t a typical fictional story; it’s based on the incredible true story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a talented gamer who gets the chance to become a real race car driver. Veteran driver Jack Salter (David Harbour) takes him under his wing. Director Neill Blomkamp cleverly used camera angles and sound to make the movie feel like the video game, creating a thrilling sense of speed and blurring the lines between the virtual and real world. Critics generally liked the film, giving it a 65% approval rating, praising the acting and inspiring story of an underdog. While it follows a familiar sports movie formula, Gran Turismo stands out thanks to its attention to detail and genuine emotional depth, making it more than just another racing film.
5) The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie became a huge success, making Nintendo a major player in Hollywood. The animated movie stars Chris Pratt as Mario and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, who team up to save Mario’s brother, Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day), from the villain Bowser (Jack Black). While the film earned over $1.36 billion worldwide, critics had mixed reactions. Some felt it focused too much on references and visuals rather than a strong story, resulting in a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the animation, created by Illumination, is bright, detailed, and beautifully brings the quirky world of the Mushroom Kingdom to life. The film’s popularity comes from its ability to appeal to both longtime Mario fans and a new generation of children. Though it’s not a deeply complex story, the movie expertly brings a classic character to life with impressive technical skill, making it a significant achievement in animation.
4) Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Instead of focusing on battles, the movie Pokémon Detective Pikachu presented a unique noir-style mystery, bringing the world of Pokémon to life in a surprisingly charming and realistic way. Released in 2019, the film centers on Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) who partners with a witty Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) to find his missing father in Ryme City. The film’s design is exceptional, blending Pokémon seamlessly into a believable and detailed city environment. Critics generally liked the movie, giving it a 68% rating for its creative visuals and Reynolds’ humor, and it earned over $433 million worldwide. This success was important because it showed that video game movies could explore different types of stories while staying true to the original source material. Although the ending features some typical CGI action, the strong connection between Tim and Pikachu is the core of the film, offering a good model for how to handle large franchises with genuine care.
3) The Angry Birds Movie 2
The 2019 movie The Angry Birds Movie 2 was a surprisingly big improvement over the first film, and is now considered one of the best movies ever made based on a video game. The story centers on Red (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) teaming up with the green pigs to fight a new danger from a mysterious island. While the first movie felt unnecessary, the sequel embraces a fast-paced, silly humor similar to classic cartoons. This change in style led to a 72% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers enjoying its clever jokes and better animation. Though it earned a respectable $154 million globally, the movie’s real strength is its creative approach to a simple game idea.
2) Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy
The Sonic the Hedgehog movies are a standout success in video game adaptations, largely because the filmmakers listened to fans and focused on creating strong connections between the characters. Starting in 2020 and continuing through the 2024 release, the films feature Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic and Jim Carrey as the villainous Dr. Robotnik. The series is well-known for its early challenges – the studio famously redesigned Sonic after the initial character design received strong negative feedback. This willingness to listen to fans proved to be a smart move, as all three films have been commercially and critically successful. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 earned the highest ratings of the series, with an 86% approval score and over $492 million worldwide. The introduction of Shadow, voiced by Keanu Reeves, in the third film also deepened the emotional impact of the story, demonstrating the franchise’s ability to grow and adapt with its audience.
1) Werewolves Within
Topping the list of successful video game adaptations is the 2021 horror-comedy Werewolves Within. The film cleverly takes the social deduction gameplay of a VR title and turns it into a fantastic mystery. Directed by Josh Ruben and written by Mishna Wolff, it centers on a new forest ranger (Sam Richardson) and a postal worker (Milana Vayntrub) who team up to solve a series of murders in a small town covered in snow. The film’s strong ensemble cast and witty script have earned it an impressive 86% approval rating from critics – the highest of any movie based on a video game. Rather than relying on action, Werewolves Within expertly captures the feeling of playing a multiplayer game by focusing on the paranoia and conflicts between its quirky characters. Though its release strategy limited its box office success, the film’s lasting impact proves that a great video game adaptation only needs to understand what makes the original game fun, not just a large budget and flashy effects.
What video game movie adaptation do you think best captured the feeling of playing the game? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-02-19 22:14