Mortal Kombat

Update [Thu 3rd Dec, 2020 22:15 GMT]: Warner Bros. has had second thoughts and will now release its entire 2021 slate in cinemas as well as via the streaming service HBO Max. This includes the new Mortal Kombat movie and other films like Dune and Matrix 4.


While video games seem to have benefited from everyone being stuck indoors, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the majority of the world into disarray, and one of the sectors which has been hit hardest is the world of movies.

Big releases have either underperformed at the box office (Tenet) or have been released via streaming services instead (Mulan, Artemis Fowl), and it's clear that, despite the fact that a vaccine is in sight, the cinema business isn't going to be quite back to normal until well into next year – if it manages to get fully back on its feet at all.

The current turmoil has naturally played havoc with the release schedules of the major studios, including Warner Bros., which has placed the superhero sequel Wonder Woman 1984 on the subscription streaming service HBO Max for the first 31 days of release, as well as running it in theatres.

Warner Bros. now has to consider what to do with the other movies it has coming up, one of which is Simon McQuoid's much-hyped cinematic reboot of Mortal Kombat. According to Variety, the studio was considering putting the movie on digital as well as in cinemas, but it is expected to take the more traditional route and simply delay the film’s theatrical debut instead. The movie had originally been scheduled to launch on January 15th, 2021 (ahead of the March window that was announced back in 2019).

That means there's now no solid release date for the film, but Warner Bros. will no doubt be keeping a close watch on the performance of the upcoming Monster Hunter movie, which, ironically, is directed by the very same person who first brought Mortal Kombat to the big screen back in 1995, Paul W. S. Anderson. That film launches in theatres on December 25th, 2020 in the United States, and how it performs will give a good indication of Mortal Kombat's chances in 2021.

[source variety.com, via gonintendo.com]