It has been a while since the last Street Fighter movie was released. However, a new studio has acquired the movie and TV rights to the fighting game series and will be working with Capcom on future projects.
Legendary Entertainment has acquired the rights to Street Fighter, one of the greatest video game franchises of all time. Street Fighter debuted in 1987 as an arcade game and hit its peak with 1994’s Street Fighter II. The second entry into the series has been regarded as one of the best video games ever and is one of the top three highest-grossing video games in history.
The fighting game series celebrated its 35th-anniversary last year. The franchise has sold over 49 million units as of 2022. Capcom will release Street Fighter VI, the latest entry in the series, on June 2, 2023.
Street Fighter has received several live-action and animated adaptations in the past. 1994’s Street Fighter was the first live-action adaptation of the video game series starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Kylie Minogue. The film was a critical failure with an 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
2009’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li was the second attempt at a full-length live-action adaptation of the fighting game starring Kristin Kreuk. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, the live-action film was a critical and commercial failure and is considered one of the worst films ever made.
Successful video game live-action adaptations
Legendary currently has a distribution deal with Sony. The studio is scheduled to release Dune: Part Two, a sequel to 2021’s Dune which earned $400 million at the box office in the midst of the pandemic. A survival game based on the Dune novels is coming sometime in 2024.
Legendary’s new deal comes as video game adaptations have found success in theaters and streaming services. Sony’s Uncharted starring Tom Holland earned $400 million at the box office last year while Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog made $320 million during its theatrical run.
HBO’s live-action adaptation of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us has been regarded as one of the best live-action adaptations of a video game in recent years. The TV series received critical acclaim and broke viewership records on the streaming service. The show has been credited to a surge in sales of The Last of Us Part 1.
Universal’s upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie is also looking promising. The film has received positive reactions from the movie’s premiere last weekend. The movie hopes to spawn a cinematic universe based on the Super Mario franchise.
