From Cult Crashes to Box Office Billionaires: The Triumphant History of Video Game Movies

Last night at The Game Awards 2025, Paramount and Legendary finally dropped the first teaser for the new live-action Street Fighter movie (October 16, 2026), and the internet lost its mind. With Noah Centineo, Jason Momoa, 50 Cent, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and classic moves on full display, the hype is real.

This announcement also reminds us how far video game movies have come — from the gloriously terrible 1994 Street Fighter to billion-dollar juggernauts. Here’s the story of the adaptations that actually worked, either by being legitimately great or by being “so bad they’re good” cult classics.

The 1990s: Birth of the Cult Classics

• Super Mario Bros. (1993) – Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and a dinosaur-evolved King Koopa. Bombed at release ($38.9 M vs $42–48 M budget, 29 % RT), now a psychedelic cult masterpiece beloved for its unhinged energy and lines like “Trust the fungus!”
• Street Fighter (1994) – Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile, Raul Julia hamming it up as Bison. Made $99.4 M on $35 M and sits at 11 % RT, yet remains the gold standard of cheesy ‘90s video-game cheese.
• Mortal Kombat (1995) – Paul W.S. Anderson’s debut nailed the vibe, made $124.7 M on $20 M, and still holds up as the most rewatchable tournament fighter movie ever.

The 2000s: Action Franchises Take Root

• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) – Angelina Jolie defined the role; $274.7 M worldwide.
• Resident Evil franchise (2002–2016) – Milla Jovovich vs zombies. Six films, over $1.2 billion total. Pure popcorn guilty pleasure.

The 2010s: Global Hits and Fan Service

• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) – $336.4 M with Jake Gyllenhaal parkouring through time.
• Warcraft (2016) – $439 M (mostly China) and jaw-dropping orc CGI.
• Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019) – Ryan Reynolds as a fuzzy electric mouse. 68 % RT, $433 M, and the first genuine critical hit.

The 2020s: The Renaissance — Billions and Beyond

• Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy (2020–2024) – After the redesign fix, the series grossed $320 M + $405 M + $492 M and climbed to 86 % RT with the third film.
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) – Illumination’s animated juggernaut: $1.36 billion, still the king.
• Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) – $20 M budget → $297 M worldwide. Jump-scare gold.
• A Minecraft Movie (2025) – Jack Black + Jason Momoa = $958 million and counting.

All-Time Top 10 Highest-Grossing Video Game Movies (Worldwide, unadjusted)

Rank	Title (Year)	Worldwide Gross	Format
1	The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)	$1.36 billion	Animated
2	A Minecraft Movie (2025)	$958 million	Live-action
3	Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)	$492 million	Live-action/CGI
4	Warcraft (2016)	$439 million	Live-action
5	Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)	$433 million	Live-action/CGI
6	Rampage (2018)	$428 million	Live-action
7	Uncharted (2022)	$407 million	Live-action
8	Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)	$405 million	Live-action/CGI
9	The Angry Birds Movie (2016)	$352 million	Animated
10	Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)	$336 million	Live-action

Punching Toward the Future Thirty years ago we were laughing at Goomba heads and Raul Julia’s Bison monologues. Today, video game movies are some of the biggest blockbusters on the planet. If the new Street Fighter can blend the original’s unhinged charm with the polish of Sonic and Mario, we might be looking at the next evolution of the genre. Hadouken incoming.