After the release of A Minecraft Movie, it is clear that we’re finally in the golden age of video game films. This has been a long journey, as video game films failed to resonate with audiences for many years. Video games can often be very hard to adapt into movies, since they are usually much longer than films and told at a completely different pace. However, several recent video game movies have found immense success, proving that they are not always impossible to adapt.

For example, the recently released A Minecraft Movie has been a huge success at the box office. As of this writing, A Minecraft Movie has made $570 million at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo). Even though reviews for A Minecraft Movie have been mixed, it continues to attract huge audiences to theaters all over the world. In addition to A Minecraft Movie, which has been in development since 2014, many other recent video game movies have been major box office successes. These movies prove that we have entered the golden age of video game films.

A Minecraft Movie Is Another Major Video Game Movie Success Story For Hollywood In The 2020s

Video Game Movies Have Thrived At The Box Offive In The 2020s

Even though A Minecraft Movie only came out about two weeks ago, it has already become the second highest-grossing video game movie of all time. The film, which stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa, isn’t losing any momentum at the box office, and could even potentially pᴀss the $1 billion mark. Currently, the highest-grossing video game movie of all time is 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. While it is unknown if A Minecraft Movie will pᴀss The Super Mario Bros. Movie at the box office, they are undoubtedly both huge successes.

A sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently in development, and given its box office success, it’s likely that A Minecraft Movie 2 will also be greenlit soon. This means that the golden age of video game films is just getting started, as both of these sequels will definitely attract huge audiences to theaters. However, A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie are not the only two video game films that have experienced immense box office success in recent years.

In addition to these two properties, Five Nights at Freddy’s did very well at the box office when it came out in 2023. Additionally, 2022’s Uncharted performed well at the box office, proving that it has franchise potential. Furthermore, the Sonic the Hedgehog movies have been loved by fans all over the world and have already formed into a major Hollywood franchise. 2024’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is by far the highest-rated entry in the series, which proves that video game films are only getting better.

Hollywood Struggled With Video Game Movies For A Long Time

A Lot Of Video Game Movies Have Been Failures

It feels amazing to be excited about video game movies again, as Hollywood struggled to adapt some of the most popular games for years. For a long time, it felt like video game adaptations were cursed, since they all received horrible ratings from critics, and usually weren’t liked by audiences either. This all started with 1993’s Super Mario Bros., the failed live-action adaptation of the iconic video game. This was the first video game movie that failed to resonate with critics and audiences, but it definitely wasn’t the last.

To name a few more examples, the Mortal Kombat movies from the 90s failed to recapture the magic of the games, the inclusion of Angelina Jolie couldn’t save the Tomb Raider movies from the early 2000s, and all the Resident Evil movies have “Rotten” ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. While some of these films managed to make a respectable amount of money, none of them were box office juggernauts like A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Heading into the 2010s, video game movies like Need for Speed, Warcraft, and ᴀssᴀssin’s Creed were all panned by critics. These are all based on some of the most popular video games of all time, but none of these films could capture what fans loved about the games. Therefore, in the late 2010s, it seemed like a good video game adaptation would never come out. However, thankfully, this all changed in the 2020s.

Most Modern Video Game Movies Still Have Room To Get Better

Many Video Game Movies Still Receive Negative Reviews

Even though I believe we have entered the golden age of video game movies, this is not to say that many of the aforementioned films could still be better. While films like A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie were both huge successes at the box office, they both have underwhelming Rotten Tomatoes scores. Most of the aforementioned video game movies from the 2020s have been a hit with audiences, but have failed to win over critics.

This is why Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes is an amazing sign for the future of video game movies. The third Sonic movie proved that it is possible to make a silly video game film that can win over both audiences and critics. Hopefully future video game films, such as A Minecraft Movie 2, The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, and the upcoming Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will be better than their predecessors and receive higher ratings from critics.

A Minecraft Movie’s Success Will Only Encourage More Video Game Movies

A Lot Of Video Game Movies Will Come Out In The Next Few Years

In addition to the sequels to the aforementioned films that have found success at the box office, A Minecraft Movie’s impressive box office haul will definitely encourage studios to make more video game movies. There are many popular video games that need a live-action movie, such as Red ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Redemption, Mᴀss Effect, and Metroid. While it would have once been a major risk to adapt any of these games, A Minecraft Movie’s success proves that it is no longer the case.

Not only is A Minecraft Movie one of the most popular video game movies of all time, it is definitely going to be one of the highest-grossing films of 2025. Even though it doesn’t have glowing reviews, because of A Minecraft Movie’s box office dominance, it can’t be denied that we are in the golden age of video game films. Therefore, after A Minecraft Movie, I’m hoping that many more video game films are greenlit in the coming years.