A Minecraft Movie is set to herald a groundbreaking year for cinematic adaptations of video games. The history of video game films stretches back to the early 1990s, beginning with 1993’s Super Mario Bros. This debut came just two decades after the inception of home gaming with the Magnavox Odyssey. Despite many adaptations facing critical and financial disappointment, the genre has gained momentum, producing noteworthy films like Werewolves Within (with an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the wildly successful animated Super Mario Bros. Movie, which grossed $1.363 billion worldwide.
Scheduled for release in April, A Minecraft Movie stands out as it draws inspiration from the 2011 survival game that has achieved the status of the best-selling video game ever. This ambitious project, directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite fame, boasts a remarkable cast, including Jason Momoa, Jack Black, and Danielle Brooks. Warner Bros. Pictures has backed the film with a substantial budget of $150 million, signaling strong confidence in its potential success.
A Minecraft Movie: The First of Four Major Video Game Adaptations in 2025
An Exciting Lineup: Two Horror Films and an Action Movie
The anticipation doesn’t stop with A Minecraft Movie; 2025 will also see the release of several other video game adaptations. Following closely will be Until Dawn, an adaptation of the interactive horror game set to hit theaters on April 25. Additionally, moviegoers can look forward to two sequels later in the year: Mortal Kombat 2, an action-packed fantasy film debuting on October 24, and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a horror flick premiering on December 5, just in time for the holiday season.
2025’s Video Game Movie Lineup Sets a New Hollywood Record
The Surge in Video Game Adaptations
With these four films scheduled for release in 2025, this year is on track to set a new record for the highest number of live-action video game movies launched in a single year. Previously, the record was a tie across five different years—2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2021—each featuring three video game adaptations. Notably, years such as 1996, 1998, 2000, 2011, and 2013 saw no releases at all. The following table details the titles released during the years that previously held the record:
|
Year |
Title 1 |
Title 2 |
Title 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2006 |
BloodRayne |
Silent Hill |
DOA: Dead or Alive |
|
2007 |
Resident Evil: Extinction |
Postal |
Hitman |
|
2008 |
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale |
Far Cry |
Max Payne |
|
2010 |
Tekken |
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time |
Resident Evil: Afterlife |
|
2021 |
Mortal Kombat |
Werewolves Within |
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City |
This historical year, beginning with A Minecraft Movie, is further complemented by a slate of live-action adaptations heading to streaming platforms before the year’s end. Exciting titles include season 2 of the post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us and season 2 of the comedic series Twisted Metal. Even without factoring in these television adaptations, 2025 is likely to maintain its record for the foreseeable future, especially considering that 2026 currently has only one video game movie, an untitled Resident Evil project from writer-director Zach Cregger, on its roster.