Luke Owen keeps track of the biggest video game movies…
To go along with our Highest Grossing Superhero Movies of All-Time list, I felt we should also keep tabs on the video game movie adaptation. Since their debut in 1993, they’ve mostly come with a bad reputation, bad reviews and often bad box office results. However, some have been genuine successes. Below are two lists collated from BoxOfficeMojo with the domestic and global takings for video game movie adaptations.
NOTE: We’ve not included Pixels as it’s not directly based on a game, but we’re happy to add it in if enough people complain (it would be high in both lists)…
SEE ALSO: Pre-order Lights, Camera, GAME OVER!: How Video Game Movies Get Made
| # | Title | Domestic total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider | $131,168,070 |
| 2 | The Angry Birds Movie | $107,509,366 |
| 3 | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | $90,759,676 |
| 4 | Pokemon: The First Movie | $85,744,662 |
| 5 | Mortal Kombat | $70,454,098 |
| 6 | Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life | $65,660,196 |
| 7 | Resident Evil: Afterlife | $60,128,566 |
| 8 | Assassin’s Creed | $54,129,763 |
| 9 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse | $51,201,453 |
| 10 | Resident Evil: Extinction | $50,648,679 |
| 11 | Warcraft | $47,225,655 |
| 12 | Silent Hill | $46,982,632 |
| 13 | Pokemon: The Movie 2000 | $43,758,684 |
| 14 | Need for Speed | $43,577,636 |
| 15 | Resident Evil: Retribution | $42,345,531 |
| 16 | Max Payne | $40,689,393 |
| 17 | Resident Evil | $40,119,709 |
| 18 | Hitman | $39,687,694 |
| 19 | Mortal Kombat: Annihilation | $35,927,406 |
| 20 | Street Fighter | $33,423,521 |
And here’s the worldwide takings…
| # | Title | Worldwide total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warcraft | $433,537,548 |
| 2 | The Angry Birds Movie | $347,836,427 |
| 3 | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | $336,365,676 |
| 4 | Resident Evil: The Final Chapter | $312,242,626 |
| 5 | Resident Evil: Afterlife | $296,221,663 |
| 6 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider | $274,703,340 |
| 7 | Resident Evil: Retribution | $240,159,255 |
| 8 | Assassin’s Creed | $210,181,941 |
| 9 | Need for Speed | $203,277,636 |
| 10 | Pokemon: The First Movie | $163,644,662 |
| 11 | Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life | $156,505,388 |
| 12 | Resident Evil: Extinction | $147,717,833 |
| 13 | Pokemon: The Movie 2000 | $133,949,270 |
| 14 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse | $129,394,835 |
| 15 | Mortal Kombat | $122,195,920 |
| 16 | Resident Evil | $102,441,078 |
| 17 | Hitman | $99,965,792 |
| 18 | Street Fighter | $99,423,521 |
| 19 | Silent Hill | $97,607,453 |
| 20 | Max Payne | $85,416,905 |
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth, the co-host of The Flickering Myth Podcast and the author of Lights, Camera, GAME OVER!: How Video Game Movies Get Made (which you can pre-order from Amazon UK and Amazon US). You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen.
Originally published February 2, 2017. Updated November 29, 2022.
