BeforeThe Last of Us, Fallout, andThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, 2016’sWarcraftwas one of the biggest video game adaptations of all time on either TV or in cinemas. In terms of movies, it still stands as the third highest grossing video game movie of all time, and now it is storming the Netflix chart almost a decade later. While the movie has not yet been able to make an impact on the global chart – due to only becoming available on the U.S. version of the platform – it is currently challengingnew moviesTrigger WarningandA Family Affairfor the top spot. .
Warcraftwas a hit at the box office, and performed well in terms of audience reviews. However, the film failed to enchant critics and took a harsh pummeling to sit on a lowly 28% Tomatometer score. Critics could not get past the complex plot – something which was not a problem for those familiar with the video game series – or the over-reliance of CGI graphics, but the dedicated fanbase of the franchise turned out for the film’s arrival in numbers…just not high enough numbers for it to become a runaway financial success.
Directed by Duncan Jones, the film took the expanded gaming universe ofWarcraftand developed it into an origin story of the battles between humans and orcs in the world of Azeroth.Warcraftappeared to be a significant financial success, taking over $439 million globally, but its hefty budget of $160 million, along with its huge marketing costs, meant it failed to reach its projected break-even point of $450 million.
Warcraft Finds a New Audience on Netflix
With the recent resurgence in video game adaptations, both on the big and small screen, it is not surprising that viewers have rediscovered the movie.High fantasy is once again exciting audiencesin many ways, from newLord of the Ringsprojects, throughThe Witcher, toGame of ThronesprequelHouse of the Dragon, so older titles set within their own world of lore and mythology are riding the coattails of that success.
World of Warcraft: What’s in Store for the Franchise’s Cinematic Future?
A look at Warcraft as a film franchise and how it could benefit from the success of yesterday’s fantasy hits.
For fans of theWarcraftuniverse, this renewed interest in the film sparks hope for potential sequels or spin-offs that could further explore the expansive lore. Back in 2018, it was believed thatWarcraftwould get a sequel, but that seemed to fizzle away. In 2020, it wasrumored that a new project was being developedas a potential sequel. FollowingWarcraft’ssuccess on Netflix, rights-owners Legendary could consider making aWarcraftproject one of their projects with the streamer.
