INDUSTRY GAMING IP
As lines blur between visual media, studios & filmmakers are flocking to gaming franchises. We unpack the creative & commercial motives behind the growing number of IP adaptations
WORDS KATIE KASPERSON
B est adapted screenplay – though once under a different name – has been an Academy Award since the Oscars’ inception in 1929, with notable winners including page-to-screen adaptations of To Kill a Mockingbird , Little Women , The Exorcist and The Godfather . But it’s not 1929 any more, and filmmakers are adapting on-screen entertainment from another, more modern medium: video games. Gaming IP is everywhere; you would be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of Pokémon or Mario and Luigi. Over the last few decades, developers have improved game graphics, with some even hiring cinematic artists (or video game cinematographers) to make their titles
feel more filmic. This is especially true for narrative games like Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us , inspired in part by Night of the Living Dead . The game’s TV adaptation – which follows its source fairly closely – is currently prepping for its third season. Game adaptations have also been outperforming their peers at the box office. A Minecraft Movie – starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, who get sucked into a cubic fantasy world – was the highest-grossing film of 2025, raking in $424.1 million in US ticket sales for a $961.2 million worldwide total. Before that, The Super Mario Bros Movie made history as the first video game adaptation to gross $1 billion globally, earning a Guinness World Record for the achievement. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie –
also based on existing IP – was the only 2023 title to earn more. These projects have proved their financial merit to studios, which have continued to greenlight both animated and live-action adaptations. Titles slated for 2026 include Resident Evil and Street Fighter as well as sequels to Mortal Kombat and The Super Mario Bros. Movie . But it’s about more than the money; these adaptations are
resonating with audiences. THE CONTINUITY QUESTION
Gaming IP makes for successful screen adaptations for a multitude of reasons, including catering content to existing fanbases and preserving creative continuity through collaboration with
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