A failure with a touch of success, the CEO reveals that the film did not negatively affect the video game franchise
When the film adaptation of Borderlands made its debut in August 2024, expectations were high. Directed by Eli Roth and starring a stellar cast including Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Gina Gershon and Jamie Lee Curtis, the film promised to become a milestone. However, it became one of the biggest box office failures of the year. Despite this setback, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, assures that the box office results have not hurt the video game franchiseShe even suggests that this may have slightly benefited the sales of previous games.
The difficulty of transferring intellectual property from one medium to another is well known and Zelnick does not hesitate to highlight it. “Obviously, the movie was disappointing,” Zelnick admits in an interview with IGN, but he makes an interesting point: “Although it didn’t meet expectations, it actually sold more of the catalog. So, I don’t think it hurt at all, in fact, I think it may have helped a little.”.
A promising future for Borderlands
This setback has not slowed down the plans of Take-Two Interactive, which recently confirmed in its earnings report that the development of Borderlands 4 is underway, with an expected launch date between April 2025 and March 2026. The game was developed by Gearbox and will be released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series. Details about the game are still scarce, but anticipation is high given the popularity of the series.
Borderlands 3the last release before the one announced Borderlands 4released in 2019, it became the best-selling game in the series, with over five million copies sold in its first week. The franchise is known for its first-person shooter style with open-world and role-playing elements, and has been critically acclaimed for combining cooperative gameplay with a comedic narrative. To this day, it remains one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time..
The film may have had a dip at the box office, but the saga of Borderlands continues to live and expand, ensuring that its legacy in the world of video games not only remains intact, but is perhaps enriched by this unexpected turn of events. Although cinema and video games often speak different languages, this is the case of Borderlands shows that even failure can have a positive side if you look at it from the right perspective.
With an exciting future ahead and a solid track record in the past, fans of Borderlands They have a lot to look forward toboth on consoles and, who knows, maybe in future film adaptations.
Borderlands survives beyond the cinema
Lilith, the heart of Borderlands on the big screen, played masterfully by Cate Blanchett, represents one of the pillars of the video game series. A notorious bounty hunter who returns to his home planet of Pandora, this character has been instrumental in capturing the attention of veteran players and new fans alike. The transition to the big screen was one of the most anticipated aspects of the film, even if the final realization did not meet all expectations.
The adaptation also attempted to capture the unique humor and distinctive visual style that defined him Borderlands as a phenomenon in the gaming world. Compared to other attempts to bring video games to the cinema, such as Assassin’s Creed Yes Warcraftthe movie Borderlands I tried to stay faithful to the original tonewhich is reflected in the selection of director and cast. However, the challenge of satisfying both critics and fans remains a difficult task, highlighted by mixed audience reception.