Hollywood is all about adaptation. Broadway theater adaptations like Doubt and Rock of Ages, young adult book adaptations like The Hunger Games and The Fault in Our Stars, and even board game adaptations. A surprising number of board games have been adapted for the big screen, and more of them are on their way, including a big one filming in summer 2015. Read on for a rundown of movies that were adapted from board games.
Ouija
Ouija boards have been a staple of middle school sleepovers for decades, and while it has been featured in a number of paranormal movies, there is only one movie directly based on the game: 2014’s Ouija. The game doesn’t have a story built into it, so the writers weren’t hugely limited, but they chose to make a PG-13 toothless teen horror with lots of jump scares and not much else.
Candy Land
For a while, Adam Sandler was developing a big screen Candy Land movie, but that film seems to be caught up in legal battles with Hasbro and Landmark Entertainment Group. Candy Land still has a movie adaptation, though, with 2005’s direct-to-DVD Candy Land: The Great Lollipop Adventure.
Battleship
The classic two-player strategy game was expanded into an alien invasion with the human forces led by Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, and Liam Neeson. Despite having the look and feel of a Michael Bay blockbuster, the film flopped at the box office. It also continued Taylor Kitsch’s streak of bad luck after Friday Night Lights, starting with X-Men Origins: Wolverine and ending with Disney’s John Carter.
Monopoly
Producer Randall Emmett confirmed that the Monopoly movie will be shooting in 2015. Emmett has compared the plot of the movie to The Goonies with a gang of kids on a treasure hunt and on the run from an adult. He also claims that the film will announce a director soon and that it is narrowed down to a shortlist.
Clue
Clue should never have been as good as it is, but its incredible comedic cast includes Madeline Kahn, Tim Curry, Michael McKean, Lesley Ann Warren, and Christopher Lloyd. Clue is more than a great board game adaptation, it is a great comedy, period. “Okay, Chief, take ’em away. I’m gonna go home and sleep with my wife.”
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons has inspired a number of movies, all of them terrible, but the original 2000 Dungeons & Dragons is the one worth noting because it stars Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons and Thora Birch (American Beauty, Ghost World).