As a mid-budget project, Warner Bros. were never hanging their hat on the success of the Mortal Kombat reboot, but by all accounts, the martial arts fantasy actioner has over-delivered so far. The theatrical industry is still suffering from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, so a $22.5 million domestic opening weekend was huge news, making it just the second film to debut above $20 million since last March.
Heading into this weekend, Mortal Kombat has already recouped its $55 million production costs from cinemas around the world, and it should be turning a profit by the time we get to Monday. When you factor in third party analytics indicating it drew in more HBO Max viewers than Godzilla vs. Kong in its first three days, which the studio touted as their most-watched streaming debut ever, then the video game adaptation can’t be viewed as anything other than a massive hit by the standards of the COVID-19 era.
On that note, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us the Snyder Cut of Justice League was heading exclusively to HBO Max long before it was confirmed – that the WB brass are said to be very happy with Mortal Kombat‘s performance, especially when the video game genre has always tended to be hugely inconsistent from both a critical and commercial standpoint. And as such, they’re hoping to continue on with the franchise for a while yet.
Reviews have been mixed so far, but longtime supporters of the extended universe are firmly on board with the idea of Mortal Kombat launching a multi-film series, and it’s almost the textbook example of a movie that’s been designed by the fans for the fans. Luckily, those fans have also spoken with their wallets, and by the time a sequel arrives, the box office will have hopefully returned to normal, and the takings will theoretically skyrocket as a result.