The Best Movies Inspired By Video Games, Ahead of ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Release

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is set to debut in theaters on April 5. Starring Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario and Jack Black as the voice of Bowser, this film is a long overdue redemption shot. 

The last time Nintendo tried this—to turn their iconic mustachioed mascot into a bona fide Hollywood star—was three decades ago. In 1993, Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo starred in a live-action Super Mario Bros. movie, an uneven patchwork about two Brooklyn plumbers who are transported to the alternate dimension of Dinohattan. It was a critical and commercial failure, and it established an unfortunate belief that video game movies are no good.

And to be fair, that’s often the case. But in the last decade, especially, that perception is starting to change. Part of the reason is that the games themselves, which are the source material and inspiration for these films, are more cinematic and story-driven than they have been in the past. But it also comes down to money. The video game industry is worth billions of dollars. And movie producers have correctly deduced that if they give these projects a massive budget, they stand to earn a massive amount.

Ahead of the new Super Mario release, we looked back on previous movie adaptations of video games to select 12 of the best ones we’ve seen so far. Take a look below to see where your favorites landed on the list.