Photos: Out of the box: Toy movie hits and misses

Battleship sunk. Based on the eponymous board game, this film in which a decommissioned Navy ship is used to help stop an alien invasion, did not fare as well as some of the other recent toy-based action movies have at the box office.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times; Universal Pictures)

Oh my g-o-s-h. The plastic pieces everyone grew up with, a mash-up of Lego worlds that used to cause kids to actually play with something using their imaginations (gasp!), created a fun and lucrative franchise. Everything was awesome!  (David Bohrer / For The Times; Warner Bros.)

While the fantasy role-playing game-based movie seems to start with high ability scores, with a cast that includes Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Thora Birch and Jeremy Irons, its box-office performance was the equivalent of rolling a one during an action phase -- it flopped.   (Brian Vander Brug / For The Times; Francis Delia / New Line Cinema)

From the Hasbro toy staple, the current films starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Channing Tatum gave life to characters created back in 1964. Not nearly as creative as the early 1980s cartoons, the films enjoyed middling success. But who can compete with the ‘80s rebirth? Yo Joe!  (David Bohrer / Los Angeles Times; Jaimie Trueblood / Paramount Pictures)

It’s just one person pushing against another, right? Right!? Maybe when it’s a Parker Bros. plastic and cardboard game, but real Ouija boards come complete with their own usually angry spirits that should probably not be contacted. Audiences agreed.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)