I Love Sonic The Hedgehog, But The Best Video Game Movie Of All Time, According To Rotten Tomatoes, Is An Underappreciated 2021 Release

Sonic the Hedgehog is a triumphant achievement in the video game movie genre, but the highest-rated gaming movie on Rotten Tomatoes is actually an underrated gem from 2021. The history of video game movies is long and complicated, and most examples of gaming adaptations have been middling at best and horrendous at worst. It didn’t take long for Hollywood to take a stab at the burgeoning video game craze, but early examples like Super Mario Bros. from 1993 showed that the studios didn’t understand what made games so popular in the first place.

Decades would pass without a single decent video game movie, but the late 2010s and early 2020s began something of a golden age for gaming films. Mega-hits like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Five Nights at Freddy’s were not only box office successes, but scored high marks from critics too. 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog adaptation got off to a rocky start during its production, but the final product was a surprising mix of fan service and accessibility that helped introduce Sonic to a new generation of youngsters. Despite the movie’s achievement, Rotten Tomatoes ranks another movie at the top.

Related

7 Things That Happen In Every Sonic The Hedgehog Movie

Each of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies are brilliant titles to watch, but there are certain things that seem to happen in all three of the films.

Werewolves Within Is The Best Video Game Movie Adaptation, According To Rotten Tomatoes

The Underrated Video Game Movie From 2021 Sits At The Top Of The Heap

Though there have been dozens of video game movies since the ’80s, the highest-rated gaming movie on Rotten Tomatoes is actually an underrated gem that didn’t get attention upon release. 2021’s Werewolves Within currently holds an 86% score (via Rotten Tomatoes), which is one point better than 2024’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It’s rated much higher than many other gaming movies. This might come as something of a surprise, since Werewolves Within is a rare example of a low-budget video game movie, and it certainly didn’t have the sprawling production of the Sonic movies or even Five Nights at Freddy’s.

The 2016 co-operative game is essentially a VR version of the party game, Mafia, in which players attempt to deceive one another in a game of social deduction. The movie didn’t have much to work with, but tells the story of a group of people who are trapped in a secluded cabin during a snowstorm. Slowly, they begin to suspect that there may be a werewolf in their midst, and things devolve into paranoia and double-crosses. Unlike other gaming movies which have complex lore to draw from, Werewolves Within essentially had a blank slate and made the best of it.

The movie was a hit with critics, and the writing mixed humor and suspense in a way that leaned harder on the comedy. The cast was anchored by Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub, and the ensemble is what makes the movie truly shine. The low-budget video game movie is a stark departure from some of the Hollywood tentpoles of recent years, and Werewolves Within illustrates the versatility of the video game adaptation as long as filmmakers are able to think outside the box. One thing the movie lacked was widespread appeal, hence it faded into the background with little fanfare.

Why Werewolves Within Wasn’t A Bigger Hit In 2021

A Multitude Of Factors Kept Werewolves Within From Being A Hit

Despite holding the top spot as the highest-rated video game movie of all time, it would be a stretch to say that Werewolves Within was a successful film. Critical assessment is only one factor that goes into judging a movie, and the 2021 gaming adaptation didn’t check off a few key points. Perhaps the most important is its box office gross, and Werewolves Within made less than $1 million in its theatrical run (via Box Office Mojo). This is likely because it was very limited, and that exposes the biggest reason that the movie wasn’t a bigger hit overall.

IFC Films distributed the movie, and they handle smaller indie projects with a limited appeal. Though Werewolves Within had all the makings of a cheeky sleeper hit, its small theatrical release meant it slipped past its target audience. It was always destined to be a digital release, which can be a death sentence if the movie isn’t sufficiently advertised. However, with a small budget to work with, Werewolves Within wasn’t promoted nearly as much as it should have been. Even recognizable properties can fail if they aren’t promoted enough, but therein lies another big problem for the 2021 movie adaptation.

The thing that ultimately tanked Werewolves Within was that it has very little crossover appeal as a video game movie. The game was a popular VR title with a decent fanbase, but it paled in comparison to established gaming franchises like Sonic or Super Mario. Werewolves Within had a small player base, which meant the movie’s audience was bound to be even smaller. On its surface, the movie doesn’t even feel like a video game adaptation, and is so loosely based on its source material that it’s barely a gaming movie in the first place.

Sonic The Hedgehog’s Critical & Commercial Success Is Still A Very Impressive Achievement For Video Game Movies

Sonic Might Not Hold The Top Spot, But He’s Still The King Of Gaming Movie Franchises

Werewolves Within is a great movie that holds the top video game film spot through a technicality, but there’s no taking anything away from the ongoing success of the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise. While video game movies might seem like a more confident investment now, 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog was a big risk. Not only did the film have to appeal to fans who have been playing the games for decades, but they had to deliver a great film that appealed to newcomers as well. Sonic achieved that goal and did so much more in the process.

As the critical assessment of the Sonic movies has improved, the financial success of the series has also increased with every installment. Every Sonic movie made more money than its predecessor, and that isn’t easy to do in the volatile box office era of the 2020s. The first movie was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but still managed to hit its stride. When the sequels had no such setbacks, they proved to be some of the highest-grossing movies of their respective years. As studios struggle to deliver huge blockbusters regularly, Paramount has been getting Sonic right time after time.

This is due in large part to the unique tone that the movies have established, and Sonic‘s cinematic outings have been referential to the games while blazing their own path. Instead of taking itself too seriously, Sonic the Hedgehog is playful and silly, and didn’t cut corners on the visuals. Like with video games themselves, fans expect gaming movies to look nice and also be entertaining, and the trilogy has created its own visual language for the characters. No matter what happens in the future, Sonic the Hedgehog deserves a spot among the best video game movies of all time.