For decades, video game adaptations struggled to win over critics and audiences alike. Clunky storytelling, weak acting, and poor fidelity to source material left many adaptations feeling like cash grabs rather than faithful tributes. Flops like Super Mario Bros. (1993) and Street Fighter (1994) created a stigma that plagued the genre, leading to skepticism surrounding any new video game adaptation.
However, 2023 marked a turning point. The Super Mario Bros. Movie made over $1.3 billion at the box office to become the second highest-grossing movie of 2023. Meanwhile, Five Nights at Freddy’s exceeded expectations, grossing $297 million to become the year’s highest-grossing horror film. These successes signaled a new era, proving that video game adaptations can become mᴀssive commercial successes.
This winning streak has continued into 2025. A Minecraft Movie brought in $955 million, making it the year’s second-highest-grossing Hollywood release. This success has also extended to television, with HBO’s The Last of Us and Prime Video’s Fallout captivating critics and audiences alike. Video game adaptations are bigger and better than ever, though there are still some тιтles that slip through the cracks.
Until Dawn Sets A Netflix Release This Month
The Video Game Movie Made $53M At The Box Office
Until Dawn has set a Netflix release later this month. Based on the 2015 video game, the survival horror film features an original story following a group of friends trapped in a secluded area and a time loop, where they are chased and killed in gruesome ways, and the only way to make it out alive is to survive until dawn.
Directed by David F. Sandberg, with a script written by Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler, Until Dawn‘s cast includes Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, and Belmont Cameli as the group of friends. Peter Stormare reprises his role from the video game.
Now, over two months after its theatrical release, the video game movie has set a streaming release date. Until Dawn is coming to Netflix on July 24. This is a day before Happy Gilmore 2 releases on Netflix, along with The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters.
What Until Dawn’s Netflix Release Means For The Movie
It Can Continue Its Quiet Success
Until Dawn‘s Netflix release can continue its quiet success. The movie made $53 million at the box office against a $15 million budget, which is enough to be considered a modest success, especially for an R-rated horror movie, as opposed to the family-friendly video adaptations like the Mario and Minecraft movies. Until Dawn is sure to find a wider audience on streaming looking for an entertaining time loop movie.
Source: Netflix
