If you’re a regular moviegoer, there’s a good chance that you saw a film based on a video game in 2026. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was an obligation for parents. Iron Lung’s cult success turned a niche adaptation into a can’t miss event for horror fans.
Resident Evil won over the hardest of cinephiles by making good use of director Zach Cregger in a screwball comedy that still featured legit scares. Even the critically panned Street Fighter has found success as a gleefully dumb popcorn flick. When all is said and done, 2026 might just go down as a landmark year for video game movies.
Buckle up, because that trend is about to kick into full gear. This week, we got a flood of news stories confirming that Hollywood is in a full-on gold rush. The film rights to video games are currently getting snapped up at an alarming rate.
While that’s not exactly new for an industry that has a long history of eyeing game movies that never pass the scripting phase, we’re actually seeing significant developments that signal an approaching tidal wave. While not every planned game adaptation will see the light of day, there are some major ones on the horizon. A24’s Elden Ring, for instance, is quietly being positioned as an event film that could surpass Resident Evil.
Recent reports claim that the film has a $200 million budget, making it A24’s most expensive film to date. That’s a major gamble — particularly considering the fantasy genre’s hit-or-miss track record on the big screen — but it already seems to be paying off, seeing as Amazon has locked down exclusive streaming rights for the film. Whether or not it will be a big deal to moviegoers, the film industry is treating it like one.
Elden Ring is just one part of the upcoming wave, which will also include The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Call of Duty, Helldivers, A Minecraft Movie Squared, and more. Those aren’t theoretical films that may never see the light of day, but ones with confirmed release dates set through 2028. There’s way more where that came from, as this week’s news cycle confirmed.
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