The game-to-film adaption Mortal Kombat hit cinemas last month and has exceeded expectations with a commercially successful premiere weekend. The new film comes as a reboot 26 years after the original film bringing the popular video game onto the silver screen.

With Super Mario Bros from 1993 being the first film based on a video game, the genre has had a rough ride with only a rare few successful game-to-film adaptations. While this has led people to believe the genre would diminish, it has done the contrary: filmmakers are looking for the valuable intellectual property of video games and are seeing more success with their film adaptations. It has been more than a quarter of a century since the first game-to-film adaptation. Now it seems the genre has started to flourish.

Mortal Kombat adaptation exceeds expectations

Fans of the video game Mortal Kombat can now see their favorite characters from the arcade fighting game come to life on the silver screen. The film hit cinemas and streaming services last month and has so far grossed $51 million worldwide. Despite mixed reviews, there was a lot of hype around the reboot. Fans were eager to experience the nostalgia the film evoked in them from the beloved game. It is most likely one of the main reasons for the film’s success: the loyal fanbase that has been waiting for the reboot to experience the game again after over two decades since the original. The long-running game series which started as a ground-breaking arcade game back in the 90ies doesn’t just have a huge fanbase, but a decades-long legacy that was now brought to life in the new film. Seeing their favorite fighters take it out on the big screen was bound to have fans of the game series flock to the cinema and tune in.

Game-to-film adaptions abound

Mortal Kombat is one of many game-to-film adaptions. Yet it might be signaling the turn of an era with films based on video games gaining traction. Back in 1995 Mortal Kombat was only the fourth film of that genre, after Super Mario Bros, Double Dragon, and Street Fighter. In the 26 years since many more adaptations have hit cinemas with most of them failing abysmally. The genre led a continuous battle with years of flops. This seems to be changing with more films and series of the genre gaining praise.

Hollywood has turned more games into films which has driven worldwide box-office sales. One of these is Detective Pikachu from 2019 which grossed over $400 million worldwide. Another success was Sonic the Hedgehog grossing over $300 million worldwide with a sequel already underway. More is yet to come with many promising productions in the pipeline. A Resident Evil reboot is set to be released at the end of the year, while the highly anticipated film adaption of the famed video game series Uncharted is scheduled for 2022.

How games and films are intertwined

Films use the intellectual property of video games and vice versa. While Hollywood is increasingly delving into game-to-film adaptations, the video game industry has used films of all kinds to make game adaptations, too. One of the most successful is the Star Wars video game series by EA, who recently released the new Star Wars: Squadrons game. Many other famous film franchises have made it into games such as the Jurassic Park films. 1993 didn’t just see the first film of the franchise, but also the first video game based on the dinosaur adventure. The games since have been popular with the latest title released in 2018.The saga even made it into the world of casino games. At the online casino players find a wide selection of table games and slots which can easily be played online. With the offer of some of the best and latest online casino bonuses, players can use free spins and bonuses to dive into the games. Fans of the Jurassic Park films can have the saga appear on the reels in several Jurassic Park online slots. With that, it is more than apparent that the worlds of films and video games have long been intertwined and will seemingly continue to be.

The film adaptation Mortal Kombat exceeded expectations and is a commercial success. With more game-to-film adaptations hitting the screens it looks like a new era of the genre might have started.