Top 15 best movies adapted from video games

In 2010, Prince of Persia became one of the most iconic video games of its time. Disney brought this story to the big screen for movie lovers. With a production budget exceeding $150 million and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Kingsley, the film was one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer of 2010.

The movie blends elements from the three parts of the game series: Prince of Persia (The Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and The Two Thrones). The plot follows Prince Dastan (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), a street orphan from ancient Persia, who becomes a fugitive after a life-altering event. He teams up with a beautiful princess to uncover the villain threatening peace.

IMDb Rating: 6.6 (based on over 275,000 user ratings)

One of the scariest video game franchises in history, Silent Hill by Konami, is known for its terrifying horror tactics. In 2006, Canada and France teamed up to produce the film adaptation of the same name, based on the third installment of the game series.

The film starts in the mysterious town of Silent Hill. When a woman named Rose (Radha Mitchell) and her adopted daughter, Sharon, move to the town, they discover a series of strange occurrences. The mystery deepens when, after a car accident, Sharon goes missing...

Audiences embraced Rose’s search for Sharon in Silent Hill, which grossed nearly $100 million. Six years later, a sequel titled Revelation was released, but it fell short in both quality and box office performance.

IMDb Rating: 6.5 (over 216,000 ratings)

This is yet another example of how a film can achieve massive commercial success despite poor critical reviews. With a production budget of $66 million, the film based on the popular racing game Need for Speed grossed $203 million.

The lead role was played by actor Aaron Paul. Paul portrays Toby Marshall, a street racer determined to compete in a cross-country race to avenge the death of his close friend.

IMDb Rating: 6.4 (over 165,000 ratings)

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was an ambitious project by director Hironobu Sakaguchi to bring the classic video game to a wider audience. The film was created using the most advanced CGI technology of its time, with a team of 200 people working tirelessly for four years. However, the film became a box-office failure, earning only $85 million despite a massive production budget of $137 million.

Nevertheless, fans still praised the quality of The Spirits Within. The film's setting is a post-apocalyptic Earth, where alien creatures called Phantoms have taken over. In this chaotic world, scientists Aki Ross and Sid must find a way to save Earth from the Phantoms.

IMDb Rating: 6.4 (over 80,000 ratings)

Based on the hugely popular mobile game The Angry Birds Movie, this film brings the hit game to the big screen. With widespread appeal, Sony partnered with game developer Rovio to adapt the game into a family-friendly movie.

Released in early May 2016, the movie had a production budget of just $73 million but earned a massive $314 million globally. The story follows Red, a bird ostracized by the flock for always having an angry expression. Unhappy with his life, he embarks on an adventure with his friends.

Along the way, they encounter interesting characters like the devious Green Pigs and the powerful Eagle...

IMDb Rating: 6.3 (over 82,000 ratings)

The third installment in the Resident Evil franchise, titled Extinction, continues the saga of Alice. This time, Alice teams up with the remaining survivors of the Raccoon City disaster as they journey to Alaska. Their path takes them through the Nevada desert, where they must battle mindless zombies and the sinister Umbrella Corporation.

Resident Evil: Extinction was both a commercial success, grossing $147 million — more than three times its production budget.

IMDb Rating: 6.2 (over 186,000 ratings)

Hitman (2007) stars Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47, a highly skilled assassin trained by a secretive organization known as 'The Organization'. After an assassination involving political intrigue goes wrong, he becomes a target of both Interpol and Russian intelligence.

With a modest production budget of just $24 million, Hitman achieved commercial success, grossing $99 million worldwide.

IMDb Rating: 6.3 (over 162,000 ratings)

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is the third film in the Resident Evil series and one of the most popular video game adaptations. Filming began in 2003 in Toronto, Canada, and was delayed due to the SARS epidemic, causing concern that the film might not be finished. Despite these setbacks, the $40 million project was completed and went on to gross $129 million worldwide.

In this continuation, Alice wakes up in the zombie-infested Raccoon City, where she and a group of survivors must find a way to escape before a nuclear missile wipes out everything.

IMDb Rating: 6.2 (over 189,000 ratings)

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 action-comedy film based on the iconic Sega video game. The fast-running blue hedgehog has become a symbol of Sega and a major box office hit in 2020.

Sonic, a humanoid blue hedgehog with incredible speed and strength, was raised by Longclaw, a protector who gave her life to save him from those who wanted to capture him. Ten years later, Sheriff Tom discovers Sonic after a mysterious event, sparking a series of adventures to protect him.

IMDb Rating: 6.5 (over 99,000 ratings)

Detective Pikachu is a 2019 fantasy-mystery film adapted from the popular video game. Directed by Rob Letterman and co-written by Benji Samit, Dan Hernandez, and Derek Connolly, it follows the story of Tim Goodman, a 21-year-old insurance adjuster who abandoned his dream of becoming a Pokémon trainer after his mother’s death and his estranged relationship with his father, Harry. Tim is contacted by the Ryme City police, a peaceful city where humans and Pokémon coexist, and where Pokémon battles are illegal. He learns from his father’s friend, Detective Hideo Yoshida, that Harry has died in a car accident. During his investigation, Tim unexpectedly meets a quirky Pikachu!

IMDb Rating: 6.6 (over 144,000 ratings)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 American adventure film based on the famous video game series Tomb Raider. Directed by Simon West, the movie stars Angelina Jolie as the iconic explorer Lara Croft. It premiered on June 15, 2001, in the U.S.

The story follows Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) as she defeats a robotic adversary in an Egyptian tomb, which is revealed to be a training arena in her family’s estate. She lives there with her technical assistant Bryce (Noah Taylor) and butler Hilary (Chris Barrie).

In Venice, during the early stages of planetary alignment, the Illuminati are searching for the key to reassemble the halves of a mysterious artifact known as the “Triangle,” which must be completed during the final phase of the alignment – a solar eclipse. Manfred Powell (Iain Glen) assures his team that the artifact is almost ready, but no one is certain of its true location.

IMDb Rating: 5.8 (over 200,000 ratings)