Take-Two CEO admits Borderlands movie flop: $115M budget yielded just $33M worldwide

Take-Two interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick publicly admitted that the publisher's recent efforts to turn the Borderlands video game series into a movie were a failure from a business and critical perspective. This public confession is important for players and investors because it could signal a shift in how the publisher is handling its expanding media portfolio. Essentially, while the studio is interested in turning popular game series into movies, it's not a guarantee of success.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick admits the Borderlands movie adaptation failed to meet quality standards despite boosting game sales

The Borderlands movie, backed by Lionsgate, cost a hefty $115 million to produce. However, it failed to attract viewers in the cinemas. In fact, the total worldwide box office take was around $33 million.

Of that, only $15.5 million was earned from the US and Canada and $17.5 million from other countries. While it's a huge loss in the box office sense, Take-Two didn't suffer financially since Lionsgate fully handled the production and financing of the film.

During the earnings call, Zelnick gave his honest opinion on the quality of the Borderlands movie. He basically said that the studio didn't live up to the high standards that the company was looking for. Here's a direct quote from Zelnick to drive home the point that there's a big difference between their intentions and the final outcome. "We made the Borderlands movie.

We tried really hard. […] But I can tell you straightforwardly: it was not the best entertainment on Earth. We failed." It's rare to hear public admissions like this from executives at big studios about their own failed projects.

In an interesting twist, the movie failure doesn't affect the core video game business. In fact, Zelnick said that the movie adaptation actually drove more sales to the Borderlands video game series. So, in a sense, the media presence had a positive impact on the franchise overall. It's a testament to the fact that even if your movie adaptation is a flop, it can still lead to more interest in the original game.

Moving forward, fans are now waiting for a Netflix adaptation of BioShock, directed by Francis Lawrence. This upcoming project will likely shape Take-Two's future media plans. The company will keep looking into cross-media opportunities, but they'll also be cautious about the perils of the movie business.

Source: IXBT