Video Game Movies in 2026: Box Office Results and What Comes Next

How did video game movies do at the box office in 2026?

As of 3 November 2026, 2026 has one clear hit and a group of mid-sized and small releases. Worldwide totals from Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro, which collects data from studios, distributors and others ^[1][15]:

• The Super Mario Galaxy Movie: $1,012,633,975, fifth among all 2026 films ^[1].
• Resident Evil: $400,024,459, twelfth ^[1].
• Mortal Kombat II: $129,570,110 ^[1].
• Street Fighter: $92,371,739, still in cinemas: it played in 2,825 North American theatres on the weekend of 30 October to 1 November ^[1][5].
• Iron Lung: $50,036,487 ^[1].
• Return to Silent Hill: $47,533,175 ^[1].

Together these six films have grossed about $1.73 billion worldwide (a sum of the figures above) ^[1]. Nearly three-fifths of that comes from the Mario film alone. All figures are gross box office revenue, which Box Office Mojo splits into 'domestic' (the US, Canada and Puerto Rico) and 'international' (the rest of the world) ^[15]; they are not studio profits.

How big was The Super Mario Galaxy Movie?

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, an animated sequel produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures, opened in North America on Wednesday 1 April 2026 ^[2]. Its domestic opening weekend (3 to 5 April) brought in $131,703,340 across 4,252 theatres ^[17]. Box Office Mojo lists a production budget of $110 million ^[2].

As of 3 November 2026 the film has earned $429,814,610 in North America (42.4%) and $582,819,365 internationally (57.6%), for $1,012,633,975 worldwide ^[1]. On those figures its worldwide gross is a little over nine times its reported budget ^[1][2]. A gross-to-budget ratio is only a rough signal, not a measure of profit.

It is the only 2026 video game film above $1 billion, and it ranks above several major non-game releases on the year's worldwide chart ^[1].

How did Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat II and Street Fighter perform?

Resident Evil (Columbia Pictures) opened on 18 September 2026 with $60,152,878 in North America ^[3]. Its worldwide total of $400,024,459 is split 39.4% domestic and 60.6% international ^[1]. That makes it the year's second-largest game adaptation by a wide margin ^[1].

Mortal Kombat II (Warner Bros.) opened on 8 May 2026 with $38,501,177 ^[4]. It reached $129,570,110 worldwide, with 61.6% from North America ^[1].

Street Fighter (Paramount Pictures) opened on 16 October 2026 with $30,775,377 ^[5]. Capcom, which co-financed the film with Legendary Entertainment, said it ranked No. 1 at the US box office for its first week, with $38.34 million in the US and about $63.54 million worldwide for 16 to 22 October, citing preliminary Box Office Mojo figures ^[6]. By 3 November its worldwide total was $92,371,739, with 57.9% from North America ^[1].

A pattern stands out: the two fighting-game films earned most of their money in North America, while Resident Evil and the Mario film earned most of theirs abroad ^[1]. Capcom notes that the Street Fighter games had sold more than 60 million units worldwide as of 30 September 2026 ^[6], a reminder that game sales and box office size are different measures.

What about smaller films like Iron Lung and Return to Silent Hill?

Iron Lung is based on a short horror game by David Szymanski, released on Steam on 9 March 2022, in which the player pilots a small submarine through an ocean of blood on an alien moon ^[8]. The film opened on 30 January 2026 with $17,800,000 in North America, and Box Office Mojo lists Markiplier as its distributor ^[7]. Mark Fischbach (Markiplier) also directed the film, co-wrote it with David Szymanski and plays its lead role ^[16]. It has made $50,036,487 worldwide, 81.6% of it in North America ^[1].

Return to Silent Hill opened on 23 January 2026 with $3,252,000 in North America through Cineverse, with VVS Films ^[9]. It earned only 11.7% of its $47,533,175 worldwide total in North America, with the rest abroad ^[1].

These two films took opposite paths: one was distributed in North America by its own director and earned most of its money there ^[1][7][16], the other relied on international markets ^[1].

How does 2026 compare with 2025?

In 2025 the biggest game adaptation was A Minecraft Movie, with $960,387,780 worldwide, fifth among 2025 releases ^[10]. Five Nights at Freddy's 2, released in North America on 5 December 2025 ^[18], earned $238,569,800 ^[10]. Smaller 2025 releases included Until Dawn ($54,105,064) and Exit 8 ($43,892,680) ^[10].

The top of the market looks similar in both years: one family-oriented film near $1 billion, followed by a horror title in the hundreds of millions ^[1][10]. The Mario sequel's $1.013 billion edges past Minecraft's 2025 total ^[1][10]. Below the top two, the other game adaptations covered here landed between about $40 million and $130 million in both years ^[1][10].

Why do some game adaptations succeed while others struggle?

Box office data show results, not causes, so the points below are interpretations of the figures rather than established facts.

What the hits share. The two biggest game films of 2025 and 2026, A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, are family films based on very widely known brands ^[1][10]. Both earned more internationally than domestically ^[1][10], which suggests broad appeal beyond core players.

Horror can work. Resident Evil and Five Nights at Freddy's 2 both passed $200 million worldwide ^[1][10], showing that horror game adaptations can reach large audiences.

Limits. Mortal Kombat II and Street Fighter, based on famous fighting-game series, stayed below $130 million worldwide as of 3 November 2026 ^[1]. A well-known game name is therefore no guarantee of a large result. Smaller films such as Iron Lung and Return to Silent Hill can still succeed relative to their scale, but Box Office Mojo does not list their budgets, so their profitability cannot be judged from these figures ^[7][9].

How should you read box office numbers?

• Gross is not profit. Totals are gross box-office revenue ^[1][15]. A production budget, where available, is listed separately, as with the $110 million for the Mario film ^[2].
• Totals change. Films still in cinemas, such as Street Fighter, keep adding revenue, and early figures can be preliminary, as Capcom noted for its first-week numbers ^[5][6].
• Regional splits matter. A film with 81.6% domestic share, such as Iron Lung, and one with 11.7%, such as Return to Silent Hill, reached audiences in very different ways ^[1].
• Openings fall fast. Street Fighter took $30,775,377 in its first North American weekend, $8,587,187 in its second and $3,659,618 in its third, so early totals say little about the final result ^[5].
• Ranks depend on the calendar. Box Office Mojo's yearly charts group films by release year, so a December release such as Five Nights at Freddy's 2 sits in the 2025 chart ^[10].

What video game movies are coming next?

Scheduled release dates as of 3 November 2026 (dates can move):

• The Angry Birds Movie 3: 23 December 2026, Paramount Pictures ^[12].
• Sonic the Hedgehog 4: 19 March 2027, Paramount Pictures ^[13].
• The Legend of Zelda: 30 April 2027, according to Nintendo's official film page ^[11].
• A Minecraft Movie: Squared: 23 July 2027, Warner Bros. ^[14].

Three of these four are sequels to existing film series ^[12][13][14]. On the pattern of 2025 and 2026, Zelda and the Minecraft sequel, two family films based on widely known game brands, look most similar to this year's biggest hit; this is an interpretation, not a forecast from any source.