Detective Pikachu Now Highest Grossing Video Game Film in North America

It’s official. The highest grossing video game movie in North America is Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. Defeating the Angelina Jolie adaptation, Tomb Raider, the first dive into live action has the Pokemon universe pulling in over $131.65 Million USD at the box office. While there have been several video game adaptations in the past, none have seemingly received as much attention as the story of the gumshoe electric rodent, looking to solve the mystery behind the case of Detective Pikachu’s master, Harry Goodman.

Forbes wrote an article detailing how Detective Pikachu managed to “break the video game curse” or low box office numbers and terrible critical reviews. Bloodrayne, Postal, Far Cry, Super Mario Bros, and Street Fighter are just a few examples of video games that landed as movie adaptations with a sickening thud. Luckily for the first Hollywood Pokemon movie, Warner Bros Pictures took the task to heart, creating a worthy entry into the Pokemon universe and exploring a new, interesting environment in the form of Ryme City.

The film has garnered box office and critical success with Legendary beginning to look into creating a sequel to the popular film. While details are sparse at present, we’ll be sure to keep you updated on any breaking news when it comes to this new entry point into the world of pocket monsters.

The production budget of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu was around $150 Million USD. While the total take for the film domestically is around 15 million shy of that, worldwide, the total box office is close to topping $400 million USD. We’ll see how the film continues to do during its theatrical run, but with new blockbusters hitting theaters each week, the movie’s “glory days” may be behind it. Still, we think the movie’s success will make it a tough video game adaptation for any other competitor to overtake in the future.

What do you think of Detective Pikachu finally managing to break the curse of the video game adaptation? What other video game would you like to see made into a movie that could potentially take the number one spot from Pokemon? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Pokemon.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is currently in theaters. The official synopsis for the film reads as such, “The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to communicate with one another, Tim and Pikachu join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery.