Sponsored: Hollywood takes video games to the box office

Throughout times the big screen has taken inspiration for storylines and visual style from cartoons, TV-series, historical events, legends, and mythology. But video games have also made it to the red carpet and inspired Hollywood to produce numerous films for the big screen. Some have even been turned into online slot machine games.  Let us remind you of just a few of the biggest video games that made it to the box office.

Previous and upcoming video games turned movies

Tomb Raider

The ultra-sexy Lara Croft was a no-brainer to convert into a movie (Tomb Raider) followed by a sequel (Cradle Of Life) in 2003. Starring the then young and well-toned Angelina Jolie it was a huge hit with teenage boys and grown ass men all over the planet! The humanitarian and mother of 6, can also lean back on the financial benefits this 2001 movie generated for her. It launched her to leading Hollywood actress status and secured several lucrative franchising opportunities, with everything ranging from lunchboxes to theme parks as some of the spin-offs. All made possible by a movie simply piggybacking on the original video game, Tomb Raider. A new Tomb Raider movie is due out in 2018, alas this time round Alicia Vikander will play Lara Croft.

Resident Evil

The film, Resident Evil was released in 2002 and again featured an irresistible strong and sexy female superhero. This time lads got to admire Milla Jovovich taking on the Umbrella Corporation in latex. The actress, no stranger to fame was only 15 in the remake movie of Blue Lagoon. Developed by Capcom, this Japanese video game was originally made for the Playstation in 1996 as a survival horror video game and the Resident Evil series that followed has sold over 25 million copies in the US alone. Zombie fans have embraced the 6 Resident Evil movies to date and with the release of the latest video game Resident Evil 7: Biohazard this month a seventh movie is sure to be in the pipeline.

Doom

Launched in 1993 by id Software this game is considered a pioneer in the category “first-person-shooter” games. It has spawned numerous sequels and a movie in 2005 with “The Rock” aka Dwayne Johnson playing the lead.

Silent Hill

Developed by Konami, Silent Hill is a Japanese survival video game originally released in 1999. The franchise includes two movies Silent Hill (2006) which grossed over 100 million USD and Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) in 3D.

Max Payne

Played by hunky Mark Wahlberg, Max Payne comes to life in this movie based on the famous third person shooter video game brought to us by Remedy Entertainment. We follow Max, a NY cop on his dangerous job and on his quest to revenge his murdered family. Hollywood’s new darling, Mila Kunis, plays his sassy side-kick.

Street Fighter

Another Capcom creation that started life as a video game in 1998. Two movies starring Jean Claude Van-Damme made it to the big screen, the first in 1994 and the last one in 2008.

Prince of Persia

Great news for Jake Gyllenhaal fans out there! Prince of Persia – the Sands of Time was the brainchild of Jordan Mechner, follows the dashing Prince’s escapades in the 2010 movie. Originally Prince of Persia was an action-adventure game created way back in 1989.

Hitman

Danish games developers IO Interactive created this hugely successful video game which has resulted in one book and 2 feature movies. Hitman was released in 2007 and the sequel, Hitman: Agent 47, was released to the anticipating audiences in 2015.

Angry Birds

Only if you have lived under a rock the last few years you may not have heard of Angry Birds. Finnish game developers Rovio are behind this relatively simple game. 12 million copies sold in Apps Store alone. The cartoon movie Angry Birds premiered 13th May 2016.

Honourable mentions:

Warcraft 2016 based on the world’s biggest multiplayer game, World of Warcraft.

Assasin’s Creed. Revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. This movie premieres this month!