Hollywood has a complex relationship with video games. Film studios often struggle adapting games to the big screen, to the point that some gamers treat the phrase “video game movie” as a dirty word. However, despite the numerous flops, there are still somepopular movies based on gaming properties.
A recent study commissioned by Best Casino Sites compared data on internet searches from 56 countries to determine the mostpopular video game moviein each nation. And while the researcher couldn’t find useable data for everywhere on earth, the study still yielded some interesting results.
RELATED:Batgirl Release Date Appears To Be Delayed In Favor Of UK Theatrical Debut
Starting with the global rankings, 2018’sTomb Raiderwas the most popular video game movie in 23 countries. They included the UK, Turkey, several EU countries, Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Cameroon.Monster Hunterand 1995’sMortal Combattied for second place, being the most popular in 18 countries each.The critically pannedHitman: Agent 47came in third with 15 countries, followed byWarcraft,Need For Speed,Resident Evil: Retribution,Resident Evil,Rampage,Assassin’s Creed,The Angry Birds Movie, andDOA: Dead or Alive.
The firstMortal Combatfilmwas the most popular game movie in North America, South America, and Australia. The 1995 film was the biggest in the US, with Canada and Mexico preferringResident EvilandResident Evil: Retribution. However, the fantasy martial arts adventure was the unquestioned winner in Latin America, taking Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.Resident Evil: Retributionalso won in Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, and several Central American countries.
Meanwhile,Tomb Raiderwas Europe’s most popular video game movie, followed byMortal KombatandWarcraft.Rampagewas the most popular in Albania and Ireland, withHitman Agent 47,Pokemon: Detective Pikachu,Monster Hunter, andThe Angry Birdsmovie dominating Slovakia, Macedonia, Poland, and Belarus.
WhileHitmanandNeed for Speedwere the big winners in Asia and Africa, the country-by-country breakdown was far more divided. The popularity ofAssassin’s Creed,Hitman: Agent 47, andRampagewas widely and randomly distributed across both continents. However, despite being the continental winner,Need for Speedwas only the most popular among countries in the south.Rampagewas also the biggest hit in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Oman, and Kenya.
In addition to going country-by-country, the study made some interesting observations about three of the four most popular movies. 1995’sMortal Kombatand2018’sTomb Raiderboth had mixed reviewsand mediocre scores on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. However, they also had relatively positive audience review scores on both sites. Meanwhile,Hitman: Agent 47was critically panned but saw a more mixed audience reception.
Best Casino Sites editor Aiden Howe hypothesized that some movies may have been “ahead of their time” or benefited from name recognition. Another explanation for the gulf in opinions could be that critics have a different frame of reference from average moviegoers. It’s also possible that gamers have different standards for evaluating video game movies.
