Clue turns 40: A perfect whodunit and surprisingly faithful adaptation

Whodunits are back in vogue. 2025 alone included the third Rian Johnson Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the fifth season of the meta mystery Only Murders in the Building, and Chris Columbus’ adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club. At the same time, game and toy adaptations continue to be big business, with a Vin Diesel film based on Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robotsin the works along with multiple projects inspired by Catanfollowing the huge success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbiein 2023 and numerous Lego films. Video game adaptations dominate the box office and every streaming service.