Summary
Borderlandshas had a terrible opening weekend at the domestic box office, begging the question of what went wrong. TheBorderlandsmovie is based on the video game franchise of the same name, though it is safe to say the film has not captured the hearts of viewers as the games did with players. Several ofBorderlandsbiggest video game characters were missingfrom the film, causing some initial disappointment. Despite the rest ofBorderlands' talented cast members, the film was already off to a rough start concerning winning over game fans.
Thevideo game changes in theBorderlandsmoviedid not stop there, however. The character dynamics and powers of central members of the team were altered, though there were some notableBorderlandsvideo game Easter eggsin the movie. Regardless, there were many issues that stoppedBorderlandsfrom garnering success among the video game community. Upon the wide release of the film, it seemsBorderlands' lack of success carried over to general audiences, raising questions over what happened to the film to warrant a measly $8.8 million opening weekend domestically.
$54 million
$50 million
$15.4 million
$8.8 million
Borderlands' Box Office Was Hurt By Its Very Negative Reviews
The Critical & Audience Reception To The Film Harmed Borderlands' Box Office Performance
Undoubtedly, the biggest hurdleBorderlandshad to overcome to perform well commercially was its incredibly negative reviews.When the review embargo forBorderlandswas lifted, it debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 0% approval rating from critics, meaning not a single positive review was logged. Since then, more reviews have been logged for the film, somewhat improving its abysmal opening critical numbers, though not by much. The movie now sits at a 9% approval rating based on 99 reviews, which is not a score that would instill confidence in general moviegoers to spend hard-earned money on watchingBorderlands.
To further compoundBorderlands' poor reception from critics, the audience members that did see the movie were not glowing about it either. Arguably, the best metric to gauge how general audiences feel about wide releases is CinemaScore.Borderlandshas a CinemaScore of D+, the second-lowest rating of any movie from the summer movie period in 2024. Combine the poor critical reception with the bad reviews from viewers, andBorderlandswas always going to struggle to be a sure-fire box office hit.
Only Russel Crowe’s The Exorcism received a lower CinemaScore than Borderlands in the last few months.
8 Reasons Reviews For The Borderlands Movie Are So Awful
Critic reviews for Borderlands are awful, and there are several major reasons why the movie has been met with so much negativity and criticism.
Video Game Movies Have Never Been Consistent Success Stories
Even ifBorderlandshad received strong reviews, it would have faced the unfortunate reality of being a video game movie. For decades, video game movies were thought to be cursed, with studios failing time and again to capture what made the source material so good and translate that onto film. Although recent efforts have seen thebest video game movie adaptationssomewhat break the curse, the lingering remnants of the various bad attempts of the last 20 years hang like a shadow over every film released in this genre.
Borderlandsis no different and had to face the challenge of continuing theGolden Age of video game adaptationsor reverting to type and ranking among the worst ever made. As it turns out,Borderlandsfalls squarely under the latter category. The shadow in question lingering overBorderlandsmeant audiences were not sure if it would hit or miss as a video game adaptation, likely lowering its opening weekend numbers.
Borderlandsis also not as popular a franchise as recent adaptations that have worked, such asFallout,The Last of Us,The Super Mario Bros. Movie, andSonic the Hedgehog…
WhileBorderlandsis a popular game, it is not as popular in recent years as the last mainline game was released in 2019.Borderlandsis also not as popular a franchise as recent adaptations that have worked, such asFallout,The Last of Us,The Super Mario Bros. Movie, andSonic the Hedgehog.As a video game movie, it already had the stigma of being bad going against it.Combined with a less-popular IP, being too different for game fans, and too inaccessible for general audiences,Borderlandshad several challenges to overcomeeven before its initial reviews.
Is Borderlands A Box Office Bomb? How Much Could It Make?
Does Borderlands Have Any Chance Of Success?
With a domestic opening weekend haul of $8.8 million, the question of whetherBorderlandsis a certified box office bomb seems easy to answer. That said, there are some factors at play that could see it somehow claw back its production budget and even make a profit. While the film’s poor reviews mean it is unlikely to have strong legs domestically,Varietyhas reported that the studio claims 60% ofBorderlands' $110 million production budget has already been recouped by international presales.
Even if this proves to be true, the film will find it difficult to overcome the other $45-$50 million production costs and further $30 million marketing budget. As alluded to, it is unlikely this differential is made up of box office sales thanks toBorderlands' terrible opening weekend numbers and the improbability of it having legs in the coming weeks. Although there is a chance it could perform well on VoD, streaming, physical media, and merchandising,Borderlandswill either be classed as a complete bomb or, if its value improves somewhat, an overly disappointing venture.
Borderlands Ending Explained: Lilith’s Transformation & The Franchise’s Future
The ending of Borderlands remixes the final stretch of the original game, empowering one of the leads and uniting the heroes for a firery conclusion.
What Borderlands' Box Office Means
Concerning whatBorderlands' poor box office means, it really only extends to the possibility of - or more aptly, lack thereof - a franchise.Borderlandsdoes not end in a way that directly sets up the story of a sequel, but its characters live on to potentially tell more tales in this universe. Given that most big-budget movies are made with the intention of being turned into a franchise of late, it is unlikelyBorderlandswas any different.
If indeed sequels, prequels, and spin-offs ofBorderlandswere the intention, the opening weekend box office numbers will undoubtedly put an end to them. In an ever-changing, volatile, mostly unforgiving box office market post-COVID, the likelihood of getting sequels greenlit for films that broke even is smaller than ever. As such, the chances of having a shared universe for a film that performed as poorly asBorderlandsare, well, borderline impossible.
Borderlands
Cast
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl - all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
