The measure of success for Warner Bros. films is being weighed a bit differently thanks to their decision to release their theatrical releases in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service simultaneously. The studio wanted to be cautious about the 2021 box office due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, so far, the hybrid release model has seemed to work. Godzilla Vs. Kong performed well, all things considered, theatrically and via streaming, and now a WarnerMedia executive is pointing to Mortal Kombat as another one of their releases that have exceeded expectations.
Brad Wilson, WarnerMedia executive vice president of growth and revenue, recently spoke with "IGN" as HBO Max turned one year old after launching in May 2020 and he called Mortal Kombat one of the streamers "top assets." He does say that acquiring popular shows like Friends and The Big Bang Theory has also proven to be successful but he said Mortal Kombat was one of the platform's most important offerings of the past year.
"Mortal Kombat was an interesting title for us, because I will say that while we expected it to do well, we did not expect it to do as well as it did. It's been one of our top assets on the platform. And those customers are now crossing over into watching all the other great titles that we typically see, but also some of the great library content that we have with Friends, The Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos, etc.
Hearing about the streaming success of Mortal Kombat bodes well for its potential sequel. On the theatrical front, the film has done decent business, grossing $41.9 million to date domestically and $81.2 million globally. The film carries a $55 million budget so with streaming factored into its box office performance, it looks like fans will get the sequel they have been clamoring for. It should be noted that Mortal Kombat is a very niche franchise and it was always going to be hard for the film to break out beyond its target fanbase so I think the box office total is just fine all things considered.
What are YOUR thoughts on how Mortal Kombat performed on HBO Max?