Hollywood has a complicated relationship with video games. Movie studios often struggle to adapt games to the big screen, to the point that some gamers consider the phrase “video game movie” to be an expletive. However, despite numerous failures, there are still several popular films based on game properties.
A recent study commissioned by Best Casino Sites compared internet search data from 56 countries to determine the most popular video game movie in each country. And although the researcher could not find usable data around the world, the study still yielded some interesting results.
Starting with the global ranking, Tomb Raider 2018 has become the most popular video game movie in 23 countries. These included the UK, Turkey, several EU countries, Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Cameroon. Monster Hunter and Mortal Combat 1995 took second place, being the most popular in 18 countries each. The critically acclaimed Hitman: Agent 47 ranked third with 15 countries, followed by Warcraft, Need For Speed, Resident Evil: Retribution, Resident Evil, Rampage, Assassin’s Creed, The Angry Birds Movie and DOA: Dead or Alive.
The first Mortal Combat movie was the most popular feature film in North America, South America and Australia. The 1995 film became the most popular in the United States, and Canada and Mexico preferred “Resident Evil” and “Resident Evil: Retribution.” Nevertheless, fantasy martial arts became the undisputed winner in Latin America, capturing Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. Resident Evil: Retribution has also won in Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and several Central American countries.
Meanwhile, the most popular video game movie in Europe was Tomb Raider, followed by Mortal Kombat and Warcraft. Rampage was the most popular in Albania and Ireland, while Hitman Agent 47, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, Monster Hunter and The Angry Birds movie dominated Slovakia, Macedonia, Poland and Belarus.
While Hitman and Need for Speed were the big winners in Asia and Africa, the breakdown by country was much more disjointed. The popularity of Assassin’s Creed, Hitman: Agent 47 and Rampage was widely and randomly distributed across both continents. However, despite the fact that Need for Speed became a winner on the continent, it was the most popular only among the southern countries. Rampage also became the biggest hit in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Oman and Kenya.
In addition to studying country by country, the study made some interesting observations about three of the four most popular films. Mortal Kombat 1995 and Tomb Raider 2018 have mixed reviews and mediocre ratings on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. However, they also had relatively positive audience ratings on both sites. Meanwhile, Hitman: Agent 47 was criticized, but was received by the public more ambiguously.
Best Casino Sites editor Aiden Howe suggested that some films may have been “ahead of their time” or benefited from name recognition. Another explanation for the difference of opinion may be that critics have a different system of views than ordinary moviegoers. It is also possible that gamers have different standards for evaluating movies on video games.
