2021 has been an interesting year for Warner Bros. They’ve tested out their new strategy of releasing films in theaters and on their HBO Max streaming service. It included the likes of Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, and recently The Suicide Squad. We sadly have little insight into how these projects perform on the streaming service. It’s a hotly debated topic as the usual Box Office performances aren’t the best metric to get a feel for a project’s success.
One of the surprises is how well Mortal Kombat seems to be performing on the streaming service. The gaming adaptation is reportedly the best performing weekend release on the service and according to analysts Samba TV, it also dominated the second quarter in US households with 6M watching it on the service. It was far ahead of Those Who Wish Me Dead, Disney+’s Cruella, or The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.
Curious how some of this past spring's direct-to-streaming movies fared? Our Q2 2021 State of Viewership Report takes a look back at some of Q2's biggest releases.
Download the full report here: https://t.co/M3g6IvEkPs#SambaTVInsights #MortalKombat #Cruella pic.twitter.com/ykGKEqW4Y8
— Samba TV (@samba_tv) August 10, 2021
Reportedly, The Suicide Squad took the second spot of most-watched film on the streaming service, which might hint at a strong performance for R-rated projects. It also performed decently during the first recovery months of the Box Office, as it took the top spot with $22.5M. Yet, its streaming dominance could be an indicator for Warner Bros. to build upon its success and release a sequel for HBO Max exclusively.
There still has been no official renewal for a sequel, but it seems likely as any film currently faces Box Office troubles during the pandemic. Still, we know the service is looking into creating exclusive films for the service base don DC properties. Batgirl and Blue Beetle are already confirmed. It wouldn’t be too surprised if they’d consider adding Mortal Kombat to the list. Perhaps they’d even explore a TV series instead to give the many characters more character.
Source: Twitter
