Game On Studios look to score with movies based on video games
Adaptations have been more miss than hit, but a franchise could be worth billions
LAST SUMMER, DURING an annual retreat for Sony studio executives, Matt Milam, vice president for film production and development, led a presentation on what could be learned from the handful of successful video-game adaptations.
Among the titles were the 2016 releases “Warcraft,” which grossed $434 million worldwide, and “Assassin’s Creed,” with global ticket sales of $241 million. Fox’s 2007 release “Hitman” grossed $100 million worldwide.
In theory, popular video-game IP should be an easy moneymaker for studios: Games like “World of Warcraft” have enormous builtin fan bases, and a potential hit can spawn a new franchise, creating opportunities for merchandise and other ancillary revenue.
But, studios remain vexed by how to launch a successful game adaptation that has broad appeal both domestically and internationally. One Sony insider walked away from the retreat presentation feeling unconvinced the film industry could soon crack the formula for a domestic box office smash.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comscore, notes that the history of cinema is littered with video-game adaptations that have flopped. Among them: 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.,” which had a $48 million production budget but grossed less than $21 million domestically. “Bloodrayne,” a $25 million picture released in 2006, grossed only $3.6 million worldwide.
Just two titles have ever grossed more than $100 million at the domestic box office: “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” the 2001 picture starring Angelina Jolie, and 2016’s animated “The Angry Birds Movie.”
This year’s game adaptations, “Rampage,” which opened at No. 1 with $36 million thanks to the star power of Dwayne John- son, and “Tomb Raider” each generated the lion’s share of their ticket sales overseas. The six films in the “Resident Evil” franchise have earned just 20% of their global box office take domestically.
Yet, Sony isn’t alone in the pursuit of a breakout video-game movie franchise. Among them, the major studios hold rights to more than four dozen video games, including the popular “Metal Gear Solid,” “Destiny” and “God of War.” Those projects are in various stages of development, but only a few have been dated for release. Just three adaptations — “Detective Pikachu” (May 2019), “Angry Birds 2” (September 2019) and “Sonic the Hedgehog” (November 2019) — are pegged to release dates.
None of the companies that hold those rights, including Sony, Universal, Warner Bros. and Paramount, would comment on the record for this story, although two insiders — one from Sony, the other from Warners — say privately that there are broad discussions at their respective studios about future game-based films.
Yet, some studio executives and box office analysts hold out hope that with all the massive video-game-inspired movies on the horizon, a pivotal change will see the onset of massive success. “It’s an inevitability that something like that will happen,” says Jordan Vogt-roberts, who is attached to direct the adaptation of “Metal Gear Solid.” “To me it isn’t a question of if — it’s a question of when.”
Dergarabedian concurs with that forecast. “We’re starting to see maybe a turning point or a tipping point in the evolution of the video-game big-screen adaptation after decades of fits and starts,” he says, adding that studios likely are buying up rights because when success hits it will be “on the order of a magnitude of a superhero universe ... that can be worth billions.”
Avi Arad, who was closely tied to the emergence of the soaring success of the Marvel superhero movies, seems to be betting big on video-game adaptations through Arad Prods. His company is sitting on rights to nine game properties, among them potential blockbusters like “Uncharted,”“borderlands” and “Metal Gear Solid.” Ari Arad, president of Arad Prods., says his goal is to create film adaptations of games in the same vein as today’s hugely popular comic-book movies. And he thinks that’s becoming more likely with each new video-game movie release.
“I’d like to hope that we’re heading in a positive direction in terms of adapting
Waiting Game “Rampage” (top) and “Tomb Raider” have met with success, but a breakout franchise has been elusive. We’re starting to see a tipping point in the evolution of the videogame adaptation after decades of fits and starts.”
Paul Dergarabedian