21 Years Ago This Week, GTA 6 Studio Rockstar Released Its Only Movie — It Didn’t Even Cross $1 Million Dollars

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21 Years Ago This Week, GTA 6 Studio Rockstar Released Its Only Movie — It Didn’t Even Cross $1 Million Dollars

Long before Rockstar Games became known for the billion-dollar franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, the studio tried its hand at something very different: movies. Exactly 21 years ago this week, the studio stepped outside of game development and into film production, and helped bring The Football Factory to *** theaters on May 14, 2004.

You may have seen this movie at some point because it is quite a cult classic, especially among the British audience. But at the time, it didn’t achieve the multi-million or even billion-dollar successes that blockbuster movies have today. Which is fair because it wasn’t a blockbuster in the first place.

Did you even know that Rockstar made a movie?

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The Football Factory follows Tommy Johnson, a hardened Chelsea “firm” member who lives for late-night brawls and heavy drinking. Directed by Nick Love from A.J. Lovell’s screenplay, the film portrays the violent rituals of English football hooliganism through Tommy’s frenetic world of street fights, courtroom appearances, and disappointing family ties.

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This was first film to be released by Rockstar Games.

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— GTA News

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It starred Danny Dyer, who would go on to become a key voice actor for the studio as the cheeky Kent Paul in GTA: Vice City and San Andreas. While the movie featured no shortage of violence and chaos, its deeper themes explored regret, loyalty, and the cost of toxic masculinity.

Interestingly, Rockstar’s involvement was never widely publicized, and even among fans of the studio’s games, there weren’t many who knew of it. Many who watched the film upon release, or rediscovered it years later, only recently learned about the studio’s involvement in the production. Even you may have seen the movie before and only learned of the involvement now.

“No way GTA 6 graphics will be as good as the trailer”

Literally GTA 5 trailer 2…

Rockstar Games look BETTER than the trailers

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— TGG (@TGGonYT)

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Despite having a quality cast, crew, and even a bit of Rockstar‘s storytelling DNA, The Football Factory didn’t exactly light up the box office. The film earned just £623,138 in the ***, or under $1 million USD. That now seems modest compared to Rockstar’s multibillion-dollar game launches. For context, GTA V generated over $1 billion within three days of release.

Even GTA 6 already looks like a movie in its trailer

What’s perhaps more surprising is that Rockstar hasn’t tried again since. Given its storytelling pedigree and cinematic flair in games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5, many fans have wondered why the studio hasn’t ventured into film or television with more intention. It’s not for lack of material because we know that their games often feel more like movies than games.

Despite this cinematic experiment, Rockstar’s focus remains squarely on video games. And with GTA 6 currently set for a May 2026 release, the studio is fully back in its wheelhouse. The game was originally expected earlier, but has already faced internal delays. Some even speculate that Rockstar could push the launch to late 2026 if the studio deems the game unfinished

Rockstar has never tried to make another movie since. But in a way, it didn’t need to. Every game it releases feels like one, and GTA 6 might go even further with that, considering how long the game has taken to make and how good the trailer looks.

The Football Factory is available to stream on

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Prime Video (USA).

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#Years #Week #GTA #Studio #Rockstar #Released #Movie #Didnt #Cross #Million #Dollars

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