Video game adaptations in film and television

The first live action film based on a video game, the eponymous Super Mario Bros., was released on May 28, 1993, to both critical and commercial failure.

[3][4] Super Mario Bros. was followed in 1994 by other adaptations, such as Double Dragon and Street Fighter, which received similarly negative reviews.

Among one of the most notorious video game filmmakers is Uwe Boll, a German writer, director, and producer whose works include House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Postal, and Far Cry, all of which were almost universally panned by critics and are considered among the worst films ever made.

[10] Conversely, Paul W. S. Anderson has gained a reputation for his panned video game adaptations in the 21st century, particularly Resident Evil series and Monster Hunter.

[12] This is generally due to difficulties in adopting a story meant to be played interactively into a linear movie-going experience.

"[16] Observers noted a substantial uptick in the critical and commercial success of video game adaptations in the late 2010s and 2020s.

Since then, Detective Pikachu, The Angry Birds Movie 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog have been able to attain a "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

[30] Creators of film and television adaptations quickly found that to help appeal them to video game audiences, they had to assure that the work is faithful to the source material, both in narratives and appearance.

[32][33] Though video game films are generally critically panned, they tend to do well from the international take at box offices.