Mortal Kombat had a so-so reaction from critics, but whether people were watching in theaters or on HBO Max, they were definitely watching.
Warner Bros.’ new Mortal Kombat movie may have split critics, but it’s found an audience. Deadline reports that it “overperformed” in its opening weekend at the domestic box office, pulling in $23.3 million. That’s probably not as much as it would have made pre-pandemic, but it’s made over $50 million already worldwide, and this on a budget of $55 million, so it’s well on its way to turning a nice profit.
And that’s before you incorporate how it did on HBO Max. Mortal Kombat is one of many Warner Bros.-produced movies this year debuting in theaters and on the streaming service simultaneously. That decision ruffled feathers among some of the the studio’s creative partners, but it’s turned out to be a financial success. The release of Wonder Woman 1984 attracted a lot of new subscribers, and Mortal Kombat ended up being HBO Max’s biggest weekend premiere yet, with 3.8 million households watching.
All this means that Warner Bros. will likely go forward with sequels to the movie. The film wasn’t shy about wanting that, ending with a tease that popular character Johnny Cage could show up in the next one. And Joe Taslim, who plays Sub-Zero, told Variety that he’s already signed for four more entries, so you know WarnerMedia wants to turn this into a franchise.
I watched Mortal Kombat over the weekend, and while I can’t say I thought it was a great movie, I’m glad it’s succeeding both at the box office and on streaming. Although WarnerMedia will return to releasing movies exclusively in theaters in 2022, so far their experiment with day-and-date releases in theaters and on streaming has worked, which hopefully we’ll get more of it even after the pandemic subsides, COVID being one of the big reasons they cited for making the move in the first place. Pandemic or not, having choices of where to watch is good for movie lovers.
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h/t SyFy Wire