Visiting any online casino site will reveal hundreds of slot options across many different themes, from Ancient Egypt to classic fruit machines and underwater and outer space adventures. Another popular type of casino slot theme revolves around the silver screen, as blockbuster movies can also spawn their own slots.
Games themed around iconic movies naturally catch the eye, because there is a degree of familiarity about them and they offer players the chance to dip into nostalgic pop culture. A quick search for movie-based slot machines will turn up plenty of results, but which are the standout ones to try out first?
Why movies have appeal for slots
One benefit game developers have when it comes to producing a licensed slot based on a movie is that a lot of the heavy lifting regarding marketing has already been done. That’s because the movie that’s getting gamified is probably a classic blockbuster, and therefore, movie-based slots will have a theme that many people will already be familiar with.
In a way, they promote themselves and have a unique ability to capture attention in a crowded space. It doesn’t matter where in the world you play from – whether you’re in the UK or South Africa, looking for the most highly recommended online casinos can be tricky! More specifically, if you’re located in one of the United States where online casinos are legal, some platforms will have sections tailored to those locations, much like the casinos available on AskGamblers. The following are the top five slots that are themed on blockbuster hits from the silver screen:
Jurassic Park
Created by leading game developer Microgaming, Jurassic Park hits the right note for lovers of the 1993 monster hit. The Jurassic Park slot has a decent 97% RTP and 243 paylines across its five reels. Fans of the movie will easily relate to the great graphics in the game, filled with familiar dinos like T-Rex, Brachiosaurus and Velociraptors, while the movie’s main characters feature as symbols as well.
The Jurassic Park logo is the game’s wild symbol and the slot’s big feature is the T-Rex Alert Mode. When this extra feature gets triggered, T-Rex will enter the frame, while a lot of stacked wilds hit the reels. There are scatters in the game, which are represented by a dinosaur egg, and at least three of them will activate the free spins feature. The Jurassic Park slot is highly entertaining and captures the movie perfectly.
Terminator 2
Being one of the greatest movie franchises ever, it was almost inevitable that Terminator would get licensed as a slot machine. Terminator 2 has a much better RTP of 96% compared to Terminator Spin & Win, which is under 95%, and the look of it is spot on as well.
The Terminator 2 slot also boasts an atmospheric and cinematic soundtrack, and it all combines to do a brilliant job of recreating the post-apocalyptic feel of the original movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 is prominent, along with other main characters like Sarah Connor and the T-1000, with the latter being the highest-paying symbol.
A great bonus feature of Terminator 2 is the T-800 Vision, which can be triggered on non-winning spins, while the Morphing T-1000 wild feature shifts symbols to create the highest payout possible. Terminator 2 is extremely immersive, with some innovative bonus play.
Jumanji
Released in 2019 and developed by NetEnt, Jumanji is a low-volatility slot, which fits perfectly with the style of the fast-paced rollercoaster of a game because of more frequent payouts. The RTP is around 96%, which isn’t spectacular, but the 1995 hit movie is well represented by the slot.
The jungle adventure’s main features are there, from a stampede of rhinos to sticky vines and monkeys causing chaos. The soundtrack is exactly what you would expect, with the infamous jungle drums pounding along in the background, creating atmosphere.
Just like the movie, the Jumanji slot is entertaining, fun and visually striking, and includes a top-down view of the Jumanji board game. There are 36 pay lines on the slot, with jungle animals and standard playing card symbols in the game.
Four bonus features can be triggered, including wild reels, respins, reshuffles and up to nine wild symbols in the Wild Stampede. There are also a lot of free spin opportunities in the game that can be earned through the Jumanji Board Game bonus.
The Goonies
The Goonies is an absolute banger of an 80s classic, and the slot version from Microgaming is another fantastic example of a game developer perfectly emulating the feel of the original movie. The Goonies slot features 20 paylines and six modifiers that can boost winnings up to 10,000x the stake.
The movie’s characters have been transported straight into the game, along with symbols and music from the mega hit. Goonies has an average RTP of 96% and runs at medium volatility. One of the slot’s most popular features is the famous Truffle Shuffle that overlays wilds on the reels.
When three bonus symbols appear, players can spin the bonus wheel to play games like the Fratelli Hideout Bonus, One-Eyed Willie’s Treasure Bonus and Goonies Go Wild, leading to different rewards from free spins to multipliers.
Aliens
Developed by NetEnt, Aliens is one of the most atmospheric slots doing the rounds, and Ridley Scott’s masterpiece featuring Sigourney Weaver has been perfectly captured by the slot. The show’s star is, of course, the Xenomorph that struck so much fear into moviegoers. Aliens is a five-reel, three-row video slot with 15 paylines.
The 3D graphics on the title are exemplary, featuring some amazing animations. Feature-wise, the game has multipliers, wilds (represented by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation logo) and respins.
A significant challenge of playing the Aliens slot, which has an RTP of 96%, is completing the levels. That starts with the Alien Activity Meter feature that collects multipliers, before Level 2 challenges the player to get rid of all the aliens before there’s no ammo left, and at Level 3, if you can take down the Queen Hive in one shot, you’ll hit the top prize.
Exploring more
From The Godfather to Gremlins, there are many movie-based slots out there to try out. More often than not, they do a wonderful job of recreating movies by taking direct inspiration like characters, symbols and soundtracks that transport you into an engaging, fun slots environment, but remember always to gamble responsibly.
