As Drew Dietsch reported in this week’s Box Office Report, the Angry Birds movie pulled in $39 million in its opening weekend, the third best opening of a Sony animated movie behind Hotel Transylvania and its sequel. It is on track to becoming one of the top five grossing video game adaptations of all time.
It was a bit surprising to see Angry Birds come to the big screen at all, considering the original game was released in 2009. This comes nearly a month after the release of the Ratchet & Clank movie (the original game came out in 2002), and a few weeks before the opening of the long-awaited Warcraft movie (based on a franchise that has been around since 1994). There was even an entire Tetris movie trilogy announced recently. Apparently movies based on old game franchises are now officially a thing.
With all that in mind, some of the staff and Fan Contributors at Fandom put our heads together to come up with some other mobile games — both old and new — that we would love to see make the jump to the big screen. Caution: Some mild spoilers and plenty of snark ahead.
Clash of Clans
Clash of Clans may not have the most involved plot (Build your base. Destroy other bases. Repeat ad nauseum.), but it has got all of the other components that make up a great movie: a zany cast of characters, magic, heroes, warring factions (a.k.a. the eponymous Clans), and explosions. Lots and lots of explosions. The animated commercials for the game have already proven the concept can work, at least in short spurts. Plus, with the success of Supercell’s other games, Clash Royale and Boom Beach, there are plenty of cross-over opportunities. Honestly, this one seems like a no-brainer, and it’s only a matter of time before we see a direct-to-video release, at the very least.
[Matthew Allen]
Temple Run
Temple Run would be perfect as a movie. Picture it: A globe-trotting explorer, searching for a sacred idol hidden deep in a Mayan-esque temple and surrounded by booby traps. Just as he lifts up the idol, a deep rumbling reverberates through the room. A massive boulder lands with a crash and lumbers towards our hero, leading to a heart-pounding escape from the temple to avoid ending up pancaked. Honestly, how has Hollywood not thought of this already?
[Brett Bates]
Device 6
Device 6 is a work of interactive fiction, but it’s as tense as the most nail-biting thriller, and as mysterious as the pulpiest of noirs. It’d be like James Bond meets Sherlock Holmes, with a dash of something altogether creepier. Films are playing it too safe. I want to walk away from the film adaptation of Device 6 feeling paranoid and uncertain what I saw. Is Terry Gilliam available?
[Jorge Albor]
Ingress
Ingress is an augmented reality and location-based game where players dive into a world of portals created by an unknown group (possibly an alien race) called Shapers. Any real-world location that contains public art or sights, or certain special buildings can be designated as portals. The players, called “Agents,” are separated into two factions: The Enlightened and the Resistance, who compete to capture as many portals as possible from one another. With more than seven million agents spread around the world, and lore similar to The Matrix, there would definitely be an audience for a theatrical adaptation.
[Fan Contributor Cyanide3]
Kingdom Rush
While a tower defense game doesn’t exactly sing “film adaptation,” the playful nature of Kingdom Rush and its assortment of bizarre and fun genre-relevant creatures makes for a potentially fun movie franchise. Kingdom Rush: Frontiers added in dozens of hidden movie references into the margins of the game, which further bridges the gap between game and the silver screen. With the different heroes the player can acquire the possibilities open up for diverse characters of all shapes and sizes and the resulting cocktail of options creates a canvas that could aim to be a tongue-in-cheek Warcraft film or a more ensemble-driven romp that doesn’t take itself seriously. Whether it is the crazy wizards both dark and light, archers that eventually begin using powder weapons, bombardiers, or regular old knights in shining armor, Kingdom Rush has all the tools it needs to at least take the place of the dormant Clash of the Titans movies.
[Nick Nunziata]
Snake
The granddaddy of practically all mobile games, Snake has all the narrative potential of The Godfather. A story about a poor creature unable to stop its forward momentum, Snake is a pointed examination about our gluttonous and unfulfilling quest for meaning in a meaningless universe. Unfortunately, an adaptation would probably add extraneous elements such as an origin story for the titular reptile or shoehorning in a tragic romance with a character played by Rosamund Pike. In a perfect world, Snake is what David Lynch makes immediately after hitting the scene with Eraserhead. It’s an existential ode to the ever-present specter of death and the inevitable march towards oblivion that all life is subjected to. Rated PG for some crude humor.
[Fan Contributor Drew Dietsch]
Mega Run
Although Mega Jump was Redford’s first adventure, Mega Run: Redford’s Adventure is the most well-known game that stars the lovable little creature. The game even has a plot that the movie could follow: Redford goes into different worlds and fights monsters while he follows a trail of items left by his brother (Bluto) and sister (Rosie) who have been taken by an unknown creature. It may not sound like much to go on, but if a movie about birds being shot into pigs can be a thing why can’t Mega Run?
[Fan Contributor Ryan]
Canabalt
Canabalt would make a fantastic movie, maybe because it already feels like it’s based on one. There’s a story in this endless runner somewhere, it just isn’t given away. You play a nameless character who is hopping from building to building as massive alien tripod creatures take over Earth and the city around you crumbles. Who is this protagonist? Why is he running? What are the demands of the monsters destroying the city? So many questions, so few answers. Give a filmmaker a couple hours in this world and you’d have one hell of a chase film. While the game itself is rather brainless and simple, a movie based on Canabalt could be anything but.
[Fan Contributor Brandon Marcus]
Year Walk
Year Walk, another game from Device 6 developer Simogo, has the potential to be a fantastic horror thriller. The Scandinavian folklore premise of the game is loaded with terrifying creatures and spirits. The story is filled with intense moments as you search for clues and answers to what the future holds. Jump scares are few and far between, but all are effective, and the atmosphere of the environment would translate to the screen just as well as Silent Hill did in 2006. Year Walk could be terrifying, nightmarish and incredibly poignant if handled properly. If a studio wanted to make a horror film out of a mobile game, this is the one.
[Fan Contributor Andrew Hawkins]
If you have other mobile game candidates you would like to see make their way to the silver screen, let us know @getfandom.