Street Fighter’s return shows video game film adaptations used to be huge flops, but studios can’t get enough

A wider audience for games

Hollywood’s early attempts to bring games to cinemas included Super Mario Bros. (1993), Mortal Kombat (1995) and Street Fighter (1994). Their reception was largely poor. At the time, home gaming was relatively new, and films arrived only a few years after some games first reached consoles.

Around 2020, adaptations began drawing on fans spanning generations. Older viewers could recognize characters such as Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li, while younger audiences also knew the games. Patrick Metzger’s “nostalgia pendulum” describes popular culture’s tendency to revisit trends from roughly three decades earlier.

The new Street Fighter draws on the 1990s, with a 1993 setting and references including Jolt Cola, MTV and Tupac Shakur’s “Ambitionz Az a Ridah.” Director Kitao Sakurai has spoken about his long connection to the games. Critics have also assessed the film in relation to its source material rather than simply dismissing it.

Games gain cultural standing

In the early 1990s, video games were often treated as a novelty, with public discussion focused on concerns about addiction and violence. Many people who play games today have grown up with them, and some have become filmmakers and critics.

That change has helped games earn greater cultural legitimacy. It has also widened the audience for adaptations, which studios value when seeking projects that can appeal to both younger and older viewers.

Worlds built for more stories

Film and media companies have turned story universes such as Marvel and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter into businesses spanning sequels, television, attractions, merchandise and stage productions. Long-running game worlds offer similar possibilities for expanding stories across formats.

The article points to the title A Minecraft Movie as a signal that it is one story within a larger world; a sequel is confirmed. Disney, Universal and Skydance Corporation are among the companies that see game universes as potential foundations for franchises. Skydance oversees the recently merged studios Warner Bros. and Paramount.

Digital effects close the gap

Earlier films relied heavily on practical effects, while games used two-dimensional sprites, making it difficult to create convincing screen versions. As Hollywood adopted digital production and games moved toward 3D, including with the rise of consoles such as PlayStation, the visual divide narrowed.

In 2006, media scholar Henry Jenkins wrote that games could look much like films because both could reuse digital assets. Improved visual fidelity now gives filmmakers options that were not available in earlier decades, including Jason Momoa’s green-skinned Blanka in the new Street Fighter.