‘Pokémon Detective Pikachu’ Is Now The All-Time Highest-Grossing Video Game Adaptation
by Matt Reisine
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (The Pokémon Company/Warner Bros./Legendary)
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame is the biggest movie of the year thus far in terms of financial success, but Pokémon Detective Pikachu, which aired in theaters concurrently, was no slouch either. In fact, the first live-action Pokémon film has plenty to be proud of, including that it is now the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time.
According to Box Office Mojo, Pokémon Detective Pikachu has now grossed $139,147,806 in total. Square Enix’s Tomb Raider franchise formerly held the record, with the 2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider film starring Angelina Jolie totaling $131,168,070. (Its sequel, 2003’s The Cradle of Life, made considerably less, only drawing in $65,660,196.) If one were to include the animated Pokémon films (or even just the first two, The First Movie and The Movie 2000), then Pokémon has secured its position as cinema’s highest-grossing video game franchise, even beating out the Resident Evil films.
Ryan Reynolds portrayed the titular lead in the film, a sassy, intelligent Pikachu who claims to be a world-class detective. Justice Smith portrayed his human companion Tim Goodman, a quick-witted former Pokémon Trainer who’s the only person capable of understanding what Detective Pikachu is saying. The film’s an adaption of the 2016 Nintendo 3DS game Detective Pikachu, which features its own take on Detective Pikachu and Tim’s story and ended on a cliffhanger.
The Pokémon Company, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures reportedly have plans for a sequel to Pokémon Detective Pikachu, which screenwriter Oren Uzie will join.
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