Video game adaptations are having a moment. On television, shows like HBO’s The Last of Us and Amazon Prime’s Fallout — each based on popular game franchises — have been gigantic hits. On the big screen, 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie broke box office records, and at the time of writing, A Minecraft Movie looks to be well on its way to generating one billion dollars in ticket sales.
With these recent successes, it can be hard to remember that movie adaptations of video games have historically been notoriously bad, typically failing to win over audiences and critics alike.
