Borderlands Still Got to Thrive from Its Bad Movie
It wasnt that long ago that theBorderlandsmovie came out in theaters and did uh, Not Great in theaters before coming to VOD three weeks later. Critics and audiences more than tore into it, and Lionsgate wanted to pretend it basically didnt happen. But it apparently wasnt that much of a bust, because the games publisher Take-Two got to laugh all the way to the bank. This week, studios in both the games and film industries have been posting their financials for the second quarter of the fiscal year, and both Lionsgate and Take-Twowhich acquiredBorderlandsdeveloper Gearbox in Marchdiscussed the poorly received movie, which made $33 million worldwide and cost $120 million to make over about five years, a director change, and alleged rewrites. Lionsgate was pretty direct in calling the whole thing a complete mess: Everything that can go wrong did go wrong, said CEO Jon Feltheimer. It sat on the shelf for too long during the pandemic, and reshoots and rising interest rates took it outside the safety zone of our usual strict financial models. The success of our financial models doesnt take the place of also getting the creative right. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also dunked on it during his companys earnings call, politely referring to it as disappointing. But while it wasnt material to Take-Twos results, he said the movie got people to buy more Borderlandsgames, all of which are on current-gen hardware. Game adaptations often lead to renewed interestin the source material and more sales, so Zelnick considers this a sign that making a movie or a television show based on our very high quality IP can drive catalogue sales, and that can be a good thing. If it helps put eyes on the series ahead ofBorderlands 4next year, he cant be too mad about it.Or maybe he can. The experience of making the Borderlandsmovie burned Take-Two enough to reaffirm that it should be selective in what it lets get adapted. Its BioShockfranchise is theoretically getting a movie in a few years, and Zelnick said the company has licensed other titles, and we will continue selectively to do so. But [note the] ever so subtle word, selectively.' [via Deadline and VGC] Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.