From Games to the Big Screen: The Impact of IP Across Platforms

Video game fans are notoriously hard to please. But when Hollywood gets it right, the payoff can be huge — not just at the box office, but across the entire ecosystem of the original IP. 

Take Minecraft. In April 2025, a strange trend swept movie theaters across the country: audience members stood up mid-film and flung popcorn around the theater during scenes created from iconic moments in the game — leaving a serious mess for unfortunate employees to deal with after the credits rolled. This viral meme became so popular that star Jack Black had to entreat fans to stop. 

Antics aside, the phenomenon was evidence of the film’s cultural impact. Having already remade many popular movies from the 2000s, Hollywood has now turned to video game IP as a content source. These transmedia collaborations have the dual impact of not only driving ticket sales, but also driving players back to the games themselves. 

From Fallout to Super Mario Bros, our report “From Games to the Big Screen: The Impact of IP Across Platforms” examines the impact such offerings have on revenue and engagement, looking at the symbiotic and often mutually-beneficial relationship between content pieces of the same franchise. 

Here’s a taste of what we found:

• Adaptations have cascading impacts on the original IP: Perhaps unsurprisingly, the release of the Minecraft movie led to renewed interest in the game. The blockbuster film — positioned to become 2025’s first movie to gross $1 billion — gave a notable lift to both the mobile and console versions of the open world hit. Mobile IAP revenue jumped 44%, while the number of console games sold increased 36%. Active users saw a surge as well, spiking +9% on mobile and +41% for console players. 

• Enduring post-release boosts to performance: The positive impacts stemming from these adaptations can be long-lasting; rather than dying down in the weeks after the show’s release, the surge in daily active users (DAUs) on the PC version of the game remained 225% higher than pre-release levels for over three months following the pilot’s airing. 

• Adaptation faithfulness impacts success: The level to which an adaptation veers from its source material can be a controversial topic among  fans — with real implications for engagement and revenue. Fallout, for example, chose to expand its universe for the television series, rather than opting for a more traditional remake. This approach led to historic gains in revenue and games sold, with viewers incentivized to download the game and experience new facets of the Fallout universe. The Last of Us, which opted for a more faithful retelling of the game’s narrative, saw meaningful spikes in active users, while revenue gains were more modest — suggesting that existing players revisited the game, while fewer new players converted.

Our full report, “From Games to the Big Screen: The Impact of IP Across Platforms” dives even deeper into how brands can leverage transmedia strategies to broaden their reach and re-engage audiences — download it today.