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The Hunger Games studio Lionsgate’s Borderlands movie, based on the popular video game series, has not been the success some believed it could be in theaters. About a month after the film debuted in theaters on August 9, the Borderlands movie has made just over $31 million globally. Not only did the movie not make much money, it got poor reviews as well. That might be the movie’s final theatrical tally, as many theaters are no longer showing the film, though as always, your market may vary.
The $31 million globally tally includes $15.4 million from North America and $15.9 million from international markets, according to BoxOfficeMojo. Things were not looking good right out of the gate, as Borderlands only made $8.6 million during its opening weekend in North America. The Borderlands film had a very bad second weekend as well, and the rest is history.
Borderlands reportedly had a production budget of $115 million and advertising and distribution costs of about $30 million. Something potentially positive for the Borderlands movie is that about 60% of the Borderlands movie’s production costs (or about $69 million) were reportedly made back after the first weekend through pre-sales to international exhibitors.
Borderlands released for home video on August 30, and surely made some money there as well. Lionsgate could also make money off the movie by selling it to airlines and other distribution partners, though the Borderlands movie doesn’t seem to have a streaming home as of yet.
Lionsgate financed the movie, and no matter how it ends up faring at the box office, developer Gearbox may not take a financial hit. “The money surrounding the movie is the movie studio’s risk, so I’m not really affected by that, except that if the studio loses money it may not want to make another movie (which would be a shame),” Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford said on social media.
Borderlands came up short despite it being an established, popular IP with a dedicated fanbase, along with a cast of high-profile and acclaimed actors like Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt, Kevin Hart, and Edgar Ramirez. For her part, Blanchett said she made the movie in part because she wanted to get out of the house after COVID.
Strauss Zelnick, the head of Gearbox owner Take-Two and a former movie executive himself, urged people to give the film a chance despite its poor reviews. For more, check out GameSpot’s Borderlands movie review.
As for the Borderlands game series, Borderlands 4 was announce in August and is set for release in 2025.
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