# List of highest-grossing films based on video games
The highest-grossing films based on video games are theatrical movies adapted from video game properties, ranked by nominal worldwide box office gross. The sub-genre began in 1993 with *Super Mario Bros.* and, for roughly three decades, produced few major hits; since 2019 it has produced several billion-dollar-scale successes, led by *The Super Mario Bros. Movie* (2023) at $1.36 billion worldwide.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) • [2](https://www.boxofficepro.com/video-game-movies-sonic-hedgehog-resident-evil-mortal-kombat-box-office-history/)
| Rank | Film | Year | Worldwide gross | Source game publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | 2023 | $1,361,943,444 | Nintendo |
| 2 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | 2026 | $1,000,028,930 | Nintendo |
| 3 | A Minecraft Movie | 2025 | $960,387,780 | Mojang (Microsoft) |
| 4 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | 2024 | $462,549,154 | Sega |
| 5 | Pokémon Detective Pikachu | 2019 | $449,762,638 | Nintendo / The Pokémon Company |
| 6 | Warcraft | 2016 | $439,048,914 | Blizzard Entertainment |
| 7 | Rampage | 2018 | $428,028,233 | Midway / Bally |
| 8 | Uncharted | 2022 | $407,141,258 | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 9 | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | 2022 | $405,421,518 | Sega |
| 10 | The Angry Birds Movie | 2016 | $352,333,929 | Rovio |
Figures are nominal, unadjusted grosses as compiled by [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) and reported by GameSpot in June 2026.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) Statista's ranking of the same period lists the same top films in the same order.[3](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1223051/highest-grossing-video-game-movies/)
## The top of the list
**The Super Mario Bros. Movie** (Universal, April 5, 2023) is the all-time leader. It earned $377 million worldwide in its first five days, cleared $500 million within weeks to become the highest-grossing video game movie ever, and finished at $574.9 million domestically and $787.0 million internationally for a worldwide total of $1.36 billion.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) • [4](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-super-mario-bros-movie-passes-500-million-is-now-the-highest-grossing-video-game-movie-ever/1100-6513262/)
**The Super Mario Galaxy Movie** (Universal, April 1, 2026) reached $1,000,028,930 worldwide, $428.5 million of it domestic, making it the second video game film to cross $1 billion and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) Its domestic opening of $131.7 million fell short of the first film's $146.3 million opening.[5](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/box-office/super-mario-galaxy-movie-hit-more-milestones-box-office-billion-happening) • [6](https://www.boxofficepro.com/top-ten-highest-grossing-video-game-adaptations-of-all-time/)
**A Minecraft Movie** (Warner Bros., April 4, 2025) opened to a record $313.7 million worldwide in its first weekend, the biggest debut ever for a video game adaptation, and finished at $960.4 million worldwide ($424.1 million domestic).[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) • [7](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/433483-highestgrossing-live-action-movie-based-on-a-videogame) [Guinness World Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/guinness-world-records) lists it as the highest-grossing live-action movie based on a video game, at $961,187,780 as of February 25, 2026.[7](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/433483-highestgrossing-live-action-movie-based-on-a-videogame)
The remaining top-ten entries are *Sonic the Hedgehog 3* ($462.5 million), *Pokémon Detective Pikachu* ($449.8 million), *Warcraft* ($439.0 million), *Rampage* ($428.0 million), *Uncharted* ($407.1 million), *Sonic the Hedgehog 2* ($405.4 million), and *The Angry Birds Movie* ($352.3 million).[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) Further down the top 16 sit *Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time* ($336.4 million), the original *Sonic the Hedgehog* ($319.7 million), *Resident Evil: The Final Chapter* ($312.2 million), *Resident Evil: Afterlife* ($300.2 million), *Five Nights at Freddy's* ($291.6 million), and *Tomb Raider* (2018, $274.7 million).[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/)
## Franchise totals
The six-film *Resident Evil* series, produced by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring [Milla Jovovich](https://www.edgepedia.org/milla-jovovich), grossed $1.2 billion in total.[8](https://www.thewrap.com/video-game-movies-comic-book-movies-franchise-ip/) Its individual entries were modest by blockbuster standards, with the highest, *The Final Chapter*, at $312.2 million, but the series ran from 2002 to 2016 without a commercial failure.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) • [8](https://www.thewrap.com/video-game-movies-comic-book-movies-franchise-ip/)
The Sonic franchise places three films in the top ten, all released by Paramount: *Sonic the Hedgehog 3* ($462.5 million), *Sonic the Hedgehog 2* ($405.4 million), and *Sonic the Hedgehog* ($319.7 million).[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/)
## History of the sub-genre
The first major adaptation, Disney's live-action *Super Mario Bros.* (1993), was heavily hyped but debuted to $8.5 million over the [Memorial Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/memorial-day) weekend and topped out at $20.9 million in North America against a $48 million budget.[2](https://www.boxofficepro.com/video-game-movies-sonic-hedgehog-resident-evil-mortal-kombat-box-office-history/) Early entries were mostly modest earners: *Street Fighter* (1994) reached $99.4 million worldwide on a $35 million budget, and *Mortal Kombat* (1995) finished with $70.4 million in North America and $122.1 million globally on an $18 million budget.[2](https://www.boxofficepro.com/video-game-movies-sonic-hedgehog-resident-evil-mortal-kombat-box-office-history/)
Through the 2000s the sub-genre produced scattered hits and notable flops. *Lara Croft: Tomb Raider* (2001) earned $131.1 million domestically and $274.7 million worldwide, while *Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within* (2001) returned $85.1 million globally against a reported $137 million budget, leading to the demise of its production company Square Pictures.[2](https://www.boxofficepro.com/video-game-movies-sonic-hedgehog-resident-evil-mortal-kombat-box-office-history/) As late as 2022, only six video game movies had ever grossed more than $100 million in North America, and no adaptation had crossed $500 million worldwide.[2](https://www.boxofficepro.com/video-game-movies-sonic-hedgehog-resident-evil-mortal-kombat-box-office-history/) • [9](https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/2024.html)
**The 2023 turning point.** *The Super Mario Bros. Movie* was the first video game film to cross $500 million, and it did so within weeks of release, going on to more than double the previous worldwide record.[4](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-super-mario-bros-movie-passes-500-million-is-now-the-highest-grossing-video-game-movie-ever/1100-6513262/) • [9](https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/2024.html) *A Minecraft Movie* (2025) and *The Super Mario Galaxy Movie* (2026) then joined it above or near the billion-dollar mark, and 2026 became the year with the most entries on the list.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/)
## Patterns in the grosses
**International earnings dominate.** Several of the largest grosses came overwhelmingly from outside North America. *Warcraft* (2016) earned only $47.4 million in the United States and Canada, about 10 percent of its $439 million worldwide total, with $225 million from China alone.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) • [2](https://www.boxofficepro.com/video-game-movies-sonic-hedgehog-resident-evil-mortal-kombat-box-office-history/) *Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time* drew 73 percent of its $336.4 million total from foreign markets, and the 2018 *Tomb Raider* earned 78.8 percent of its gross internationally.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/)
**Family-friendly animated and hybrid films lead.** The three billion-dollar-scale films, both Mario movies and *A Minecraft Movie*, are animated or family-oriented adaptations, while *Uncharted*, the next live-action entry, sits at $407.1 million.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/) Analysts have attributed the recent run of success to the rise of family entertainment at the box office and to adaptations that stay close to their source material.[10](https://www.axios.com/2025/04/08/minecraft-movie-box-office-records) • [8](https://www.thewrap.com/video-game-movies-comic-book-movies-franchise-ip/)
**Rankings are nominal, not inflation-adjusted.** The list compares unadjusted grosses across three decades, so films from the 1990s and 2000s compete at a disadvantage against films released at later, higher ticket prices; no widely accepted worldwide inflation adjustment exists because currencies inflated at different rates in each release territory.[11](https://time.com/119015/frozen-records-broken-worldwide-gross/)
## References
1. [Top 10 Highest-Grossing Video Game Movies, GameSpot (Eddie Makuch, June 8, 2026)](https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/highest-grossing-video-game-movies-of-all-time/2900-3968/)
2. [From Super Mario Bros. to Sonic: A Box Office History of Video Game Adaptations, Boxoffice Pro (Chris Eggertsen, April 7, 2022)](https://www.boxofficepro.com/video-game-movies-sonic-hedgehog-resident-evil-mortal-kombat-box-office-history/)
3. [Top video game films' global box office gross 2026, Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1223051/highest-grossing-video-game-movies/)
4. [The Super Mario Bros. Movie Passes $500 Million, Is Now The Highest-Grossing Video Game Movie Ever, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-super-mario-bros-movie-passes-500-million-is-now-the-highest-grossing-video-game-movie-ever/1100-6513262/)
5. [The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Hit More Milestones At The Box Office, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/box-office/super-mario-galaxy-movie-hit-more-milestones-box-office-billion-happening)
6. [Top Ten Highest-Grossing Video Game Adaptations of All Time, Boxoffice Pro (April 7, 2025)](https://www.boxofficepro.com/top-ten-highest-grossing-video-game-adaptations-of-all-time/)
7. [Highest-grossing live-action movie based on a videogame, Guinness World Records](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/433483-highestgrossing-live-action-movie-based-on-a-videogame)
8. [Video Game Movies Could Replace Comic Book Movies, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/video-game-movies-comic-book-movies-franchise-ip/)
9. [Why it works, Deloitte Insights 2024 predictions](https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/2024.html)
10. ["A Minecraft Movie" awakens sleepy box office, Axios (April 8, 2025)](https://www.axios.com/2025/04/08/minecraft-movie-box-office-records)
11. [Frozen's Latest Title Is Less Impressive Than It Sounds, TIME (Lily Rothman, May 27, 2014)](https://time.com/119015/frozen-records-broken-worldwide-gross/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Digital play culture and society › Games in other media and vice versa › Films based on video games*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license