Does the Gaming-to-Film Pipeline Know Which Viewers to Draw In?
A generation of gamers-turned-Hollywood creatives are ramping up production on video game adaptations, and it’s no wonder why. According to comScore, last year’s theatrical releases grossed over $712 million at the domestic box office, more than doubling the amount brought in the previous year.
Some of gaming’s most anticipated 2024 film adaptations include Borderlands premiering August 9th, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 premiering December 20th, and The Legend of Zelda, which is currently in development with no set release date. While a key component for promoting these live-action films will be to tap into the built-in fan bases of their source material, the ability to reach audiences outside of gaming culture will prove just as critical.
Our polling data reveals which of these three gaming IPs would most likely succeed on-screen if it were up to gamers alone and, crucially, which overlapping fan communities each film should target to help widen their appeal.
Borderlands
Photo: Lionsgate
Based on: Borderlands (Gearbox Software)
Gamer Sentiment Score: 56% (3rd place)
According to Ranker sentiment scores (i.e. a percentage ratio of positive votes to negative votes), Borderlands stands the weakest chance at pulling in box office numbers with gamers compared to the other two gaming franchises (perhaps having the #3 Most Unsatisfying Game Ending In History [1.6K votes] has something to do with it). In order to make up for its low sentiment score among gamers, the movie will need to go after fantasy fans, as Borderlands gamers have shown they’re twice as likely to love The Lord of the Rings’ Middle-earth film franchise, three times as likely to watch The Witcher series, and four times as likely to tune in to all things Star Wars.
Borderlands’s marketing campaign would also do well to focus on its comedy chops, as fans of the game (which ranks ninth on our poll of Video Games with the Funniest Achievements [6.2K votes]) have shown an affinity for long-running comedy series like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Family Guy, and King of the Hill.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Based on: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega)
Gamer Sentiment Score: 65% (2nd place)
Sonic the Hedgehog’s gaming franchise boasts a higher sentiment score than Borderlands, suggesting its third installment would fare better at the box office, which aligns with the film franchise’s strategic advantage of building a fan base among moviegoers throughout the release of its first two films in the 2020s. But the third film does have one thing going against it – it ranks at a low #14 on our poll of Film Sequels Coming In 2024 That Have Fans Most Excited (1K). The risk of losing excitement among fans means the threequel will have to work just as hard at drawing in new viewers, the likes of which should include nostalgic fans of ‘80s fantasy blockbusters like The Goonies, Ghostbusters, and E.T. and, even more importantly, viewers who stream millennial Cartoon Network shows. Sonic gamers have shown they’re at least three times more likely to love watching Johnny Bravo, Dexter’s Laboratory and Ed, Edd n Eddy.
Perhaps most unexpectedly, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 should lean into attracting fans of darker content than the usual family-friendly fare, as fans of gritty crime procedurals like Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Minds, dystopian shows like The Walking Dead and American Horror Story, and horror IPs within the Stephen King universe all have Sonic gamers lurking in their midst.
The Legend of Zelda
Photo: Nintendo
Based on: The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo)
Gamer Sentiment Score: 67% (1st place)
According to Ranker’s gamers, The Legend of Zelda easily wins as the film adaptation most likely to sweep at the box office. Case in point: its #7 spot crushes Borderlands’ #36 ranking on our poll of Video Games That Should Be Movies (51.7K votes). And while Zelda’s positive gamer sentiment score is only 2% higher than Sonic’s, it’s worth noting that the Zelda franchise has yet to draw in a new moviegoing audience of gamers compared with Sonic’s two-movie head start. But as with anything popular, The Legend of Zelda is not immune to critique. The game ranks #6 on our poll of Insanely Convoluted Video Game Storylines Even Diehard Fans Can't Follow (1.3K votes), which means the film will be tasked with making its story more accessible to the masses.
But how to cater further to the masses? According to our data, the Zelda movie should incorporate a few unlikely fan bases into its marketing strategy, such as adult animation fans. Zelda gamers are twice as likely to watch shows like FX’s Archer and Adult Swim’s The Boondocks. Another outlier group worth prioritizing: fans who binge dark, prestige dramas like Showtime’s Shameless and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. And lastly, it should consider going after consumers of WWII historical fiction, as Zelda gamers tend to also be fans of films like Inglorious Basterds and Das Boot.
