If ever you needed an illustration of why the video game adaptation has garnered a reputation for being a poisoned chalice, look no further than Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
The adaptation of the classic console favorite seemed like a slam dunk to translate into live-action given that it was designed, marketed, and sold as being Pirates of the Caribbean in the desert, which did translate into what would appear to be a decent run at the box office after Jake Gyllenhaal’s white-washed extravaganza hauled in a stellar $336 million globally.
However, once you factor in the $200 million budget plus all of the other additional costs that come with selling a broad Disney-backed epic to the masses, Prince of Persia ended up as a certified bomb. And yet, it still performed admirably enough to secure a title as the single highest-grossing video game movie of all-time, a position it held onto for six years.
In an ironic twist you absolutely couldn’t make up under any circumstances, The Sands of Time was eventually usurped by Duncan Jones’ Warcraft, which remains the top-earning console-to-screen adaptation there’s ever been, even though the lavish fantasy epic didn’t turn a single penny of profit, either. Such is the curse of the video game film, it would seem.
Turning such exhilarating and exciting source material into something so drab, dreary, and dull is almost an impressive achievement, but Prince of Persia being a million miles away from one of its chosen medium’s best efforts hasn’t put off Disney Plus subscribers in the slightest. Per FlixPatrol, the dune-dwelling bore has turned back the clock to become one of the biggest hits on the Mouse House’s platform, long after securing record-breaking status.