We have seen a whole host of movies based on computer games hit the big screen over the years, which has been met with mixed responses and various degrees of success.

Warcraft: The Beginning

Warcraft: The Beginning

Warcraft: The Beginning is the latest computer game to be given a movie makeover as Duncan Jones - who has brought us Moon and Source Code - returns to the director's chair.

To celebrate this release of this new film, we take a look back at some of the other films in this genre and how well they have performed at the box office.

- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - $336.4 million

When it comes to computer game movies so far, it is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time that has grossed the most money at the global box office.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was released back in 2010, was based on the game of the same name and saw Jake Gyllenhaal take on the central role of Dastan.

Mike Newell, who had brought us Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Four Weddings and a Funeral, was in the director's chair and had assembled a terrific cast list.

Gyllenhaal starred alongside Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint, Toby Kebbell, Richard Coyle, and Ronald Pickup - it really was an exciting ensemble cast.

Prince of Persia tells the story of Dastan (Gyllenhaal), a street orphan who was adopted into the Persian royal family as a child. After a raid on the innocent city of Aramut, he discovers a dagger with the power to turn back time.

Prince of Persia may have blended elements of action and fantasy and boasted an impressive cast list, but it was perhaps not as big a hit that Disney was hoping for.

The movie did struggle with the critics but enjoyed some box office success, grossing $336.4 million by the end of the theatrical run.

For now, it does remain the most successful film in this genre but could face some tough competition to keep hold of that crown.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

- Resident Evil: Afterlife - $296.2 million

Hard to believe, but it was back in 2002 when the Resident Evil franchise came to the big screen for the first time. However, it is Resident Evil: Afterlife, the fourth film in the series, that is the most successful.

Resident Evil: Afterlife was released back in 2010 and saw Milla Jovovich reprise the central role of Alice - she has been with the franchise since the start.

Paul W. S. Anderson was also back in the director's chair to helm a film in the series for the first time since Resident Evil - he had written and produced Apocalypse and Extinction.

The director has assembled another great cast as Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller, Shawn Roberts, Boris Kodjoe, and Kim Coates joined Jovovich on the cast list.

While still out to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation, Alice joins a group of survivors living in a prison surrounded by the infected who also want to relocate to the mysterious but supposedly unharmed safe haven known only as Arcadia.

Afterlife remains the most successful film in this series and grossed over $296 million at the global box office. However, it was a film that was to struggle with the critics, despite being a box office success.

Resident Evil: Afterlife

- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - $274.7 million

It was back in 2001 when Angelina Jolie took on the role of Lara Croft for the first time in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - yes, it really was fifteen years ago.

Directed by Simon West, the movie was based on the iconic computer game of the same name and there was a lot of excitement surrounding the movie with Jolie on board.

Tomb Raider was only the third film of West's career and came after Con Air and The General's Daughter. It was to be the first time that the filmmaker had teamed up with Jolie.

However, it wasn't all about Jolie as Jon Voight, Iain Glen, Daniel Craig, Noah Taylor, Chris Barrie, and Leslie Phillips were also on board.

Jolie's central performance was praised, but the film's plot did come under fire and was accused of being a little bland and boring.

Despite this criticism, the film opened at number one at the U.S. box office. It went on to gross $274.7 million worldwide and it was the highest grossing computer game film, until it was surpassed by Prince of Persia and Resident Evil: Afterlife.

Jolie would reprise the role of Lara Croft two years later in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, but the film was not as bit a success as the first.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

- Resident Evil: Retribution - $240.1 million

We return to the Resident Evil series as the franchise enjoyed even more success in 2012. It was the fifth film in the series and came two years after Afterlife in 2010.

Paul W.S. Anderson was back in the director's chair on writing duties and Milla Jovovich, once again, reprised the role of Alice.

The cast list was a mix of new names and familiar faces as Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Shawn Roberts, and Li Bingbing were all on board.

Alice fights alongside a resistance movement to regain her freedom from an Umbrella Corporation testing facility.

Similarly to Afterlife, Retribution did struggle critically but it was a success at the box office. The movie grossed over $240 million and opened at number one at the U.S. box office.

The Resident Evil franchise is set to return to the big screen Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which will bring the series of movies to a close. The film is set for an early 2017 release.

Resident Evil: Retribution

- The Angry Birds Movie - $227.5 million

Of all of the films on the list, The Angry Birds Movie is the most recent and has only been out on general release for the last few weeks... it could go on to be an even bigger hit than it already is.

This is the first time that the much-loved Angry Birds have been brought to the big screen as Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly team up to both make their feature film directorial debut.

Jason Sudeikis voices the central character of Red and is joined on the cast list by Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, and Maya Rudolph.

The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds - or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Sudeikis), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Gad in), and the volatile Bomb (McBride) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it's up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.

The Angry Birds Movie opened in the #1 spot in the U.S. and has already grossed $227.5 million and looks set to go on to even bigger success over the next few weeks.

The Angry Birds Movie

Warcraft: The Beginning is out now.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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