Take-Two Chief Acknowledges Failure of $115 Million Borderlands Film Adaptation

Take-Two aims to create “the best entertainment on Earth,” and the Borderlands movie clearly didn’t make the cut.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged that the Borderlands adaptation fell short of the company’s expectations. In an interview with Business Insider, he was asked why the publisher isn’t rushing to bring its game franchises to the big and small screens. Zelnick said Take-Two aims to create “the best entertainment on Earth,” but not every attempt succeeds. He cited the Borderlands movie as an example:

The box office flop didn’t cost Take-Two money. Zelnick said the company avoided losses because Lionsgate financed and produced the movie. He also noted in 2024 that the adaptation had even boosted sales of the game series.

Eli Roth’s film, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis, grossed about $15.5 million in the US and Canada and another $17.5 million in other countries, against a production budget of $115 million.

Meanwhile, fans are still waiting for Netflix’s BioShock adaptation. The project will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who helmed The Hunger Games.