Detective Pikachu ‘now the highest-grossing video game film’
Movie reportedly overtakes Warcraft to claim box office record
Pokémon Detective Pikachu has reportedly become the highest-grossing film based on a video game.
The movie has now brought in $436 million worldwide, surpassing the record previously set by 2016’s Warcraft, according to Yahoo News.
The live-action movie, which features the voice of Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu, made a strong start at the box office, grossing $161 million worldwide during its opening weekend in May.
It enjoyed the best opening weekend for a video game adaptation in North American history, with the $58 million it grossed surpassing 2001’s Angelina Jolie-starring Tomb Raider.
“What a terrific result,” Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. head of domestic distribution, said at the time. “Typically, movies based on video games haven’t been all that successful.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, production company Legendary Pictures began work on a film sequel months before the original’s release by hiring Oren Uziel (The Cloverfield Paradox, 22 Jump Street, Shimmer Lake) to write the script.
The Pokémon Company announced in May that a sequel to 2016’s Detective Pikachu game is in development for Nintendo Switch at series collaborator Creatures Inc. It will continue the story of the original 3DS game.
