We seem to be in a golden age for video games being adapted into movies. Not so much that the films being made are particularly thought-provoking or even deserving of critical acclaim, but they’re certainly not as awful as most renditions from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. All play the nostalgia bait card profusely, almost to the same level as Ready Player One (Steven Spielber, 2018), and some have good story adaptations thrown into the mix.

With the likes of The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Aaron Horvath/ Michael Jelenic, 2023) making $1.36 billion, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Jeff Fowler, 2022) getting $405 million, Uncharted (Ruben Fleischer, 2022) collecting $400 million, and Five Nights at Freddy’s (Emma Tammi, 2023) eclipsing $294 million, movies based on games are doing very well. We’ve even seen a Tetris (John S Baird) movie in 2023, but its true level of success is kept secret by Apple TV. So, what games are surely next to be snapped up by a blockbuster Hollywood studio and made into a film?

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Monopoly’s already made it to the casino

What began as a board game has rapidly expanded into just about every form of gaming. You can play the card game Monopoly Deal, the premium mobile board game, the multiplayer freemium game Monopoly Go!, several versions for console and PC gaming, and even an online casino game. Monopoly Live is easily the most instantly recognisable among the games at casinos like Casino Days Live.

It’s a big-wheel game featuring an animated Mr Monopoly himself as a feature of the studio. The Evolution Gaming creation comes packed with random prizes from Chance cards, big wins on the spin, and even multipliers. Of course, in Monopoly Live and even in the other digital, board, and card versions of Monopoly, you’re creating the entertainment and your own story through the outcomes of a wheel spin, card deal, or dice roll.

To bring Monopoly to the big screen, the studio would either need to hire writers who can go down the route of a landlord-centric drama or perhaps even delve into the classic board game’s origins. After all, Monopoly was originally conceived by leftwing feminist Elizabeth Magie, who set up the game with both a monopolist and an anti-monopolist set of rules.

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Pac-Man is too well-known not to become a movie

One of the biggest names in 1980s arcade gaming and beyond, Pac-Man remains one of the most well-known game characters in the world even though the character or series isn’t exactly a regular feature in modern gaming. Unlike Mario or Sonic, Pac-Man hasn’t received big new games that have the bright yellow pellet-muncher explore open worlds or partake in turn-based RPGs.

We have quite recently seen Pac-Man pop up on the big screen, though. In fact, most of the advertising for the Adam Sandler and Kevin James flick Pixels from 2015 revolved around a giant Pac-Man. That film wasn’t exactly well-received by audiences or critics, though. Of all of the IPs on this list, a Pac-Man movie looks the most likely. The Hollywood Reporter detailed there being a live-action film in the works, but that was back in 2022.

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Fortnite already has a well-known director interested

The free-to-play game from Epic Studios based on the battle royale dynamic made famous by the Japanese novel Battle Royale earned $5.4 billion in 2018. In 2022, Fortnite continued to go strong by collecting $4.4 billion in revenue. The game is exceedingly popular and has mastered the freemium tactics needed to successfully monetize a free game. So, it makes sense that a Hollywood studio would want to capitalize on its popularity.

The story would be easy to craft, with The Hunger Games (Gary Ross, 2012) having already leaned into the Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2002) theme, as well as the superb Japanese adaptation of the Koushun Takami novel. All it’d need is a director. While his reputation has taken a hit following Army of the Dead (2021) and especially Rebel Moon (2023), Zack Snyder threw his hat into the ring for a Fortnite movie at the end of last year via an Etalk interview.

For some easy money, studios should look to adapting Monopoly, Pac-Man, and Fortnite for the big screen next!