The 2024 Borderlands film became a major commercial failure despite a reported production budget of $120 million, before the cost of its substantial marketing campaign was included. Its worldwide box office reached only about one-quarter of that production spend.
The adaptation also arrived with a prominent cast, including Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart, but struggled to satisfy both established fans and viewers unfamiliar with the games. Director Eli Roth now believes the film’s problems were closely tied to studio caution and the attempt to make the project appeal to too broad an audience.
A compromise that lost the games’ identity
Roth, whose earlier work includes Cabin Fever and Hostel, said told Variety that larger productions often become less willing to take creative risks. He suggested that his preference for unusual, left-field ideas was difficult to maintain within a major studio production.
He did not identify every change that affected his original approach, but pointed to the decision to pursue a PG-13 rating as a significant problem. In Roth’s view, the result was a film that was not clearly aimed at children, while also softening the elements that might have attracted the game’s older audience.
Roth characterised the finished film as belonging to no particular audience: it was not a children’s movie, yet it tried to reach everyone, while its rating restrictions limited the violence that many players expected.
That criticism is complicated by the tone of the source material. The Borderlands games carry an M (Mature 17+) rating from the ESRB for bloody animated violence and coarse humour, but their presentation is deliberately exaggerated rather than realistic. The series’ cel-shaded visuals give its action a comic-book quality, often making the gore feel more playful than graphic.
The film’s troubled reception has become another example of how difficult it can be to translate a distinctive game identity into a mainstream movie. For more coverage of the wider arcade and gaming news, RETROCADE follows the machines, games and industry stories that shape the hobby.
Roth’s next project takes a different route
For his latest comedy slasher, Ice Cream Man, Roth returned to independent production. He initially said the film would contain no generative AI, then later clarified that he had misspoken. Working outside the same studio structure may give him more control, although it also leaves him carrying greater responsibility for the finished result.
The Borderlands experience is a useful reminder that choosing an arcade or gaming setup is also about matching the hardware to the audience. RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide can help compare formats, while full-size arcade machines and compact bartop cabinets suit different spaces and playing habits.
For a further discussion of the film’s production and reception, GameSpot examined what went wrong.
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