According to a recent report from Ampere Analysis, video games are poised to supplant comics as the most popular series for film adaptation.
In a study conducted in March 2024, From comics to games: The transformation of Hollywood film adaptation, a British research firm, has found that 2023 will be a turning point in the IP battle. Last year, live-action video game adaptations saw a significant increase in popularity overall, while manga-based content slumped.
Ampere uses a metric based on average global consumer search volume on the Internet for both film and television projects to track its so-called “popularity score.” A new report evaluates the top 10 most popular newly released projects in 2023 and finds that there is only one animated adaptation of a comic (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) was ranked on the list. This is a significant decrease from the 6th place comic book originals held in this ranking in 2021, and it is significantly lower than the 4th place this category held in 2022.
On the other hand, so far in the 2020s, the trend has shifted towards expanding video game IP into movies and series, with the following movies being released. detective pikachu (2019) and Sonic the hedgehog (2020) is gaining momentum. The report theorizes that audience receptivity to the genre was boosted by a surge in gaming activity during the pandemic, which may explain the boost in numbers. uncharted (2022) Collect 407 million USD compared to last year super mario bros movie (2023, photo) Entering the billion dollar club. The small screen has also seen the emergence of successful children's shows based on video games. Angry Birds: Summer Madness and Sonic Prime (Over 82 million hours were watched on Netflix in the first half of 2023).
2021 appears to have been the last year of clear dominance for comic book series. It was the last time a superhero movie grossed more than $1 billion at the box office (Spider-Man: No Way Home)Meanwhile, Marvel Studios' TV spinoffs continued to attract high engagement and Disney+ series. wandavision The popularity score has reached its peak and remains “unparalleled”.
Last year was a particularly tough year for most manga originals. marvels, flash and aquaman and the lost kingdom It is facing a slowdown in box office revenue.
“Risk-averse studios [already] A smooth transition into the realm of games has begun,” says commissioned researcher Ilya Absaitov. “These film adaptations have already demonstrated the ability to match or exceed the success of comic adaptations.”
But he said the studio “definitely [gaming adaptations] Especially since the “buzz” and performance of game-based projects is much more variable than that of comic book originals.
The report says manga-related content will continue to be a “key component of studio and network strategies” despite the hit to profitability. For example, Marvel Studios has already oversaturated the genre by shrinking it, spacing out future releases, and investing in reliable core characters like the X-Men and Deadpool. It is re-strategizing to survive recent struggles.
