Mortal Kombat beat out Godzilla vs Kong on HBO Max in viewership numbers during their respective premiere weekends. The highly anticipated debut of Legendary's fourth MonsterVerse film was years in the making after the studio announced the film as part of their lineup in 2015. Debuting on HBO Max and in theaters in March, expectations were high and Godzilla vs Kong seemed to exceed them, breaking several pandemic box office records in its premiere weekend. Godzilla vs Kong also beat HBO Max's other high profile March release, Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Premiering a little under a month later, Mortal Kombat is a relatively untested theatrical property in the 21st century. The last film to be released based on the video games, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was widely derided as a major misstep, but anticipation was high for the 2021 reboot. Mortal Kombat's mixed reviews criticized the lackluster plot, but did note that super fans of the franchise would likely love the film's many nods to the iconic video games.
It appears those fans turned out in droves for Mortal Kombat's opening weekend on HBO Max. Samba TV reports that 3.8 million households tuned in to watch Mortal Kombat on the streamer last weekend, with 1.7 million tuning in on Friday alone. These numbers surpassed Godzilla vs Kong's five-day debut on the streamer and make Mortal Kombat HBO Max's most watched premiere that Samba has ever tracked.
Mortal Kombat beating Godzilla vs Kong in terms of viewership may come as a surprise to some, but as HBO Max continues to roll out high profile releases on the platform, it seems more people are paying attention. Moviegoers clamoring for the latest blockbusters can tune in from the safety of their own homes, and it looks like Warner Bros.' controversial decision is paying off. If the trend continues, the studio's upcoming films slated to hit HBO Max, like The Suicide Squad and The Matrix 4, could see even bigger numbers.
Mortal Kombat's opening weekend numbers also portend good things for a potential sequel. Industry insiders were worried that WB's release strategy could hinder the franchise potential of their biggest films, but there seems to be a clear interest in these releases. This would make it much easier for Warner Bros. to justify a sequel to both Godzilla vs Kong and Mortal Kombat. With the studio's great streaming experiment coming to an end in 2022, those films would be guaranteed to hit theaters, and with the theater industry beginning to show signs of a slow, but gradual comeback, right now, everybody's winning.
Source: Samba TV