Box Office News: What ‘Angry Birds’ Means For Movies Moving Forward
The box office was turned on its ear this weekend with Angry Birds: The Movie outlasting Captain America: Civil War to take the top spot. While some might have expected the turnout, it could leave some wondering about what the future holds for the box office in general. At the moment, studios have been completely enamored with comic book and superhero films. Could video games be the next big genre to find a place on the big screen?
Traditionally, the box office has not been so great with movie adaptations of video games. Just recently, Sony’s property Ratchet and Clank can be viewed as a box office flop. Rainmaker, the principal investor behind the movie, reported to Cartoon Brew this week that they were taking a $10 million write off on the beloved duo. They cited strong performances from Disney’s Jungle Book and Zootopia for causing the poor outing for Ratchet and Clank.
Studios in general must feel the same, considering news that has surfaced in the last couple of weeks about movies moving into production that are adaptations of video game properties. On the surface, it would only make sense that a video game should have a pretty easy move to the large screen, considering the story-based nature of games themselves. However, two particular films that received the green light to move into production could leave some fans scratching their heads.
Fruit Ninja
Early in the life cycle of the smartphone, an app emerged that had one swiping their finger across the screen to split fruit that would randomly appear. Over a billion downloads later, Fruit Ninja has cemented itself as a must-have game on any smart device. All things considered, it doesn’t seem to be movie material. However, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Vinson Films is willing to look past the fact there is no story to the game.
There has been no word on the approach the studio plans to take with Fruit Ninja. The company could possibly go in any direction it wants. The game has no protagonist to speak of other than the player’s finger, and outside of bombs that are lobbed onto the screen, there is no villain either. Inquisitr will keep you informed as the movie moves through production. No release date has been set.
Tetris
One would be shocked to find out that there is a possibility of Tetris blocks making an appearance in two movies. In the 2015 action-comedy Pixels, the blocks took on the role as villain when aliens opted to use the world’s pop culture against them. If that wasn’t enough of the classic 1984 puzzle game for fans, Larry Kassanoff and Bruno Wu announced during the Cannes Film Festival this past week they were forming a new company Threshold Global Studios. One of the first properties the looked to develop was Tetris: The Movie according to the Chicago Tribune.
“It’s just a phenomenal idea for this brand. That’s what motivated this whole thing. And you’ve gotta ask yourself why Tetris has been so successful for so many years; we’ve thought of a really great science fiction movie out of it. I get pitched video game projects all the time, and we’re very picky about that stuff.”
Studios are tasked with finding the next box office smash. It is important to think outside the box (pun intended), but is it possible to find box office gold with either one of the movies? Fans will ultimately be the judge of that; but, in the meantime, the idea that voiceless birds that use their heads as battering rams would knock off America’s First Avenger from the box office summit was unheard of just a decade ago.
[Image via Rovio]
