Borderlands Movie Flouts at Box Office as Gearbox CEO Reacts to Criticism

Eli Roth’s Borderlands was a box office smash hit amid negative reviews and fan backlash, but Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has found a glimmer of hope.

The film grossed just $8.8 million in the U.S. and Canada on its opening weekend, plus $7.7 million overseas for a worldwide total of $16.5 million. For comparison, the incredibly successful Deadpool & Wolverine grossed $96 million on its opening day in the U.S. alone. Sources tell IGN that a large portion of Borderlands’ $115 million budget and $30 million in marketing and distribution costs are already covered by international pre-sales.

Pitchford served as executive producer on the film adaptation of Borderlands, and he didn’t let the disappointing critical and commercial response get him down. In fact, he directed X/Twitter Over the weekend – the same weekend the film was released in theaters – to highlight the positive outcome of all the backlash.

So what you’re saying is: You love what my friends and I do in Borderlands video games more than you love what some of the world’s greatest and best filmmakers have done. I’m so happy! We’re working even harder for you on what’s next…

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) August 10, 2024

“So what you’re saying is: You love what my friends and I are doing with Borderlands video games more than you love what some of the biggest and best actors and crews of filmmakers on the planet have done,” he wrote. “I’m thrilled! We’re working even harder for you on what’s next.”

This isn’t the first time Pitchford has hinted at a fourth Borderlands game. He told IGN in February that Gearbox was working on “the greatest thing” they’ve ever done. Take-Two Interactive later acquired Gearbox for $460 million and confirmed that a new Borderlands game was in development.

I forgot my Borderlands movie ticket in the car and someone broke in and left 3 more tickets 😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/aMHx7OxZWS

— Opera GX (@operagxofficial) August 9, 2024

Sorry Borderlands fans but lol pic.twitter.com/hAAVtERWqu

— D-Piddy 🎭 (@_dpiddy) August 11, 2024

Video game creators today pic.twitter.com/DGToT337BC

— LnL (@LnLConsulting) August 11, 2024

pic.twitter.com/nPHZEQqodT

— Jamie (@JamieLeeMac) August 12, 2024

BORDERLANDS and HAROLD & THE PURPLE CRAYON compete to see who will be the biggest flop of 2024 pic.twitter.com/eEpeRskoaR

– Dalton (@RedDragon733) August 11, 2024

Earlier, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick urged people to “give the film a chance” despite the negative critical reception emerging from early reviews, telling IGN, “A lot of people worked really hard on it. The underlying IP is tremendous, the actors are amazing, and I think the look and feel are really great.”

Borderlands certainly got off to a rocky start on all fronts. IGN gave the film a 3/10 “bad” rating in its review, saying, “Borderlands is a disastrous disappointment that feels like a sloppy studio movie, and exposes everything fans love about the Gearbox Software series in a derivative and unfortunate way.”

Adele Ankers-Rang is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.