Take-Two President: Grand Theft Auto movie would be "lucrative"

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] movie based on the Grand Theft Auto franchise would be a “lucrative licensing opportunity”, the President of Take-Two Interactive said earlier this week.

Speaking at the BMO Capital Conference, Karl Slatoff, said whilst it would be a lucrative opportunity, he did warn of the risks that come along with basing a movie on a video game franchise.

For many, many years numerous rumours have been circling that a Grand Theft Auto movie could be in the works. Every single one has always been squashed by Rockstar executives but the demand for a Grand Theft Auto movie still remains to this day and is probably one of the most sought-after movie adaptations in the industry.

Slatoff confirmed that numerous film and TV representatives have expressed interest in adapting the record breaking and critically acclaimed video game franchise. Other Rockstar games have also been approached to be adapted, he stated. Via Gamespot, he said: “If you’re going to invest in a movie, you can make a lot of money on movies, but as a licensor, you’ve got to look at what the success rate is, what the movie has to do for you to generate substantial economics that are worth taking the risk.”

Expressing concerns of how a poorly received movie could affect the franchise, he also said: “So if it’s a bad movie, does that hurt your franchise or not? So there is always a balance that has to be struck there. But obviously, we consider those inbound requests. We take those inbound requests. So it’s something we consider at this point, but again it’s not core to what we do.”

Rockstar Game’s latest instalment, Grand Theft Auto V, launched on September 17th and gained worldwide critical acclaim for its immersive world and engaging story. It won the Game of the Year award at the Spike TV VGX Awards and Golden Joystick Awards. It made $800 million in sales during the first 24 hours and broke $1 billion 2 days later becoming the biggest launch in entertainment history. It also broke 7 Guinness World Records.