5 Biggest Movies Based On TV Shows

"The Mandalorian and Grogu," the next chapter of the hit Disney+ program "The Mandalorian," serves as a rare big screen continuation of a television show. In most cases, such movies aren't continuing the shows people already love. Movies rooted in the small screen often take familiar brand or character names, and create new stories out of them. They're not necessarily connected to the original TV shows, as is the case for the "Mission: Impossible" movies, the "Equalizer" trilogy, or the newest Kelvin timeline "Star Trek" films (which don't connect to any classic or streaming-era "Star Trek" shows).

Most movies based on TV shows simply bring back the original cast and continuity of a beloved program for a larger-than-life adventure. These include titles like "The Rugrats Movie," "Hannah Montana: The Movie," and 1998's "The X-Files," among many others. "The Mandalorian and Grogu" follows in a long tradition of the best and worst movies based on TV shows, while also being put up against the highest grossing examples of such adaptations at the domestic box office.

These five motion pictures (ranked below from lowest to highest grossing) made material people could watch on their TV's something you had to race to the theater to see. Time will tell if "Mandalorian and Grogu" follows in their footsteps. These five films, though, are definitely historic moneymakers.

By 1992, "Saturday Night Live" was already a cultural institution whose influence spread far beyond the living room television set. This late-night program had even begun infiltrating movie theaters. In 1980, the lucrative "The Blues Brothers"  was released, headlined by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as their characters from the show. 12 years later, Mike Myers and Dana Carvey anchored another motion picture that turned recurring "Saturday Night Live" characters into box office gold. While other "SNL" movies struggled to break even, "Wayne's World" was a massive moneymaker.

The eighth biggest movie of 1992 at the domestic box office, "Wayne's World" grossed $121.69 million. That put it above major 1992 titles like "Unforgiven," Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula," and "Basic Instinct," among many others. "Wayne's World" amassed that haul by being an incredibly leggy enterprise. The movie remained prominent in theaters for over three months, a testament to how much this wacky slacker duo had struck a chord with moviegoers. Rather than rehashing their "Saturday Night Live" catchphrases, "Wayne's World" gave Wayne (Myers) and Garth (Carvey) new material that proved irresistible.

Sometimes, movies based on TV shows have to go massive in scope to justify their existence. "Wayne's World," meanwhile, just cranked up the yuks that, in the process, catapulted it to a mighty box office run.

Two weeks before its release, it looked like "Borat" was doomed. This was when 20th Century Fox abruptly announced that "Borat" would only bow in 837 theaters in North America rather than the initial 2,000+ locations it was set to open in. Between the studio's low confidence and poor advanced tracking from audiences, "Borat" seemed destined for a dismal theatrical release. Then, something funny (like a "NOT!" joke) happened. "Borat" had a box office run the world will likely never see again. Despite playing in only 837 theaters, "Borat" topped the domestic box office and grossed $26.45 million for a $31,607 per theater average.

Every other movie in the top 11 that weekend (save for "The Queen," which had just expanded) was playing in at least 2,300 theaters. "Borat" absolutely trounced expectations. The titular lead was one of many personas leading man Sacha Baron Cohen created for "Da Ali G Show." Borat's antics couldn't be contained to this Channel 4/HBO program. Now, he was out making fun of Americans and racking up massive box office hauls in the process.

"Borat" eventually made $128.5 million domestically, a staggering haul for its $17 million budget. Those dismal pre-release projections proved incredibly erroneous.

In the immediate aftermath of its shockingly massive opening weekend, "Sex and the City" instantly became an unexpected blockbuster. Major media outlets were astonished that "Sex and the City" was such a big draw. The movie even stuck around beyond opening weekend to gross $152.64 million domestically. Yet, in hindsight, were these numbers remotely surprising? Average episodes could draw over four million viewers despite being available only on HBO. To say the show was a cultural phenomenon would be an understatement.

Often included among the best HBO shows of all time, it was inevitable that the "Sex and the City" movie would be a major box office player. It didn't hurt, though, that this feature debuted four years after the show went off the air. Fans still remembered Carrie Bradshaw and friends, but there'd also been enough of a gap to make people want to see them again. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. Plus, seeing the quartet on the big screen with a crowd offered a unique communal experience compared to watching the show in your living room.

These factors and the enduring appeal of "Sex and the City" makes it no shock that this 2008 title became one of the biggest movies ever based on a TV show.

From its witty writing to the numerous details only adults will notice, it's not hard to see how "SpongeBob SquarePants" cultivated such a gargantuan fanbase. Still, many feel that its creative peak was in its first three seasons, which concluded in 2004. A noticeable drop in quality after "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" led many devotees to abandon the series. On paper, this made releasing "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" in 2015 a puzzling one. Were people still interested in this absorbent lad? Had kids just moved on to "Adventure Time?" 

These expectations proved woefully inaccurate as "Sponge Out of Water" became a major hit with a mammoth $162.99 million domestic cume. That alone was more than double its $74 million budget. It also nearly doubled the North American haul of the original "SpongeBob SquarePants Movie." Even though the lovable sponge had been away from multiplexes for a little over ten years, the outstanding viewership figures for his TV exploits even in 2014 indicated that "SpongeBob" still had a loyal fanbase.

Some may have abandoned "SpongeBob SquarePants," but many were eager to see the character on the silver screen again. A dearth of family movie competition in early February 2015 only furthered ensured the towering success of "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water."

"The Simpsons Movie" took 20 years to finally get made, mirroring how long "The Simpsons" had endured on TV. As of this writing, it's still producing new episodes with a potential 40th season likely  on the horizon. With 2007's "The Simpsons Movie," though, Homer Simpson and his wacky family were preparing to enter uncharted territory: the big screen. It was clear the denizens of Springfield could sustain a hit small screen program, but could they get people to come out of their homes and head to their local multiplex, or would everyone responsible for financing this endeavor be shouting a frustrated "d'oh"?

Thankfully, this was not the moment where audience interest in "The Simpsons" vanished. "The Simpsons Movie" became one of  2007's biggest summer releases, with a massive $183.13 million domestic gross. After years of building up goodwill thanks to the iconic TV show, "The Simpsons" was a property audiences would follow to the ends of the Earth, let alone to their first movie. It didn't hurt that "The Simpsons Movie" was preceded by one of the greatest movie marketing campaigns of all-time that included everything from clever teaser trailers to transforming 7-11's into Kwik-E-Mart's.

With this box office haul, "The Simpsons Movie" wasn't just lucrative. It's now the permanent best-case financial scenario for anyone translating a TV show into a theatrical motion picture.