Mortal Kombat Movie Storyline. MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan), accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage-or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung (Chin Han) has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) at the direction of Jax (Mehcad Brooks), a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with.
Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang) and rogue mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson), as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana-the immense power from within his soul-in time to save not only his family but to stop Outworld once and for all?
Mortal Kombat is a 2021 martial arts fantasy film based on the video game franchise of the same name and a reboot of the Mortal Kombat film series. The film stars Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Max Huang, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.
It is directed by Simon McQuoid (in his feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham and a screen story by Russo and Oren Uziel. The film follows Cole Young, a washed-up mixed martial arts fighter who is unaware of his hidden lineage or why assassin Sub-Zero is hunting him down. Concerned for the safety of his family, he seeks out a clique of fighters that were chosen to defend Earthrealm against Outworld.
Following the critical and commercial failure of the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, a third Mortal Kombat film languished in development hell for a period of nearly two decades. In late 2010, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema (whose parent company acquired the franchise from Midway Games in 2009) began developing a new film, with Kevin Tancharoen serving as director from a script written by Uziel in the wake of their Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film. James Wan was announced as a producer in August 2015 and McQuoid was hired as director in November 2016. Production took place at Adelaide Studios in Adelaide and at other locations in South Australia. Principal photography occurred from September to December 2019.
Mortal Kombat was released theatrically internationally on April 8, 2021, and was then released in the United States on April 23, simultaneously in theaters in IMAX and on the HBO Max streaming service. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its action sequences, musical score, acting (particularly Lawson, Taslim and Sanada), visual effects, and faithfulness and references to the source material, but criticized its screenplay, pacing and the introduction of a new lead character (unrelated to the games’ lore). The film has grossed $83.6 million worldwide and became a streaming hit for HBO Max, being its most-successful film launch to-date.
Mortal Kombat was theatrically released internationally, beginning on April 8, 2021, and was later released in the United States on April 23, 2021, in both theaters in IMAX and on HBO Max. The film was originally going to be released on March 5, 2021, before being moved up to January 15, 2021. In November 2020, producer Todd Garner confirmed that the film would be delayed until theaters are reopened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before it was finally dated for release on April 16 in 3D. As part of its plans for all of its 2021 films, Warner Bros. also streamed the film simultaneously on the HBO Max service for one month, after which the film will be removed until the normal home media release schedule period.
In late March 2021, the film was delayed one week to April 23. Following its U.S. release, Samba TV reported that 3.8 million households watched at least the first five minutes over its first three days. The film was released in Japan on June 18, 2021, despite not having any Mortal Kombat games released officially in the country due to CERO gaming rules concerning excessive gore.
As of July 4, 2021, Mortal Kombat has grossed $42.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $41.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $83.6 million. Originally projected to gross $10–12 million in its domestic opening weekend, the film made $9 million from 3,073 theaters on its first day of release, increasing estimates to $19 million.
It went on to debut to $23.3 million, topping the box office. In its sophomore weekend the film dropped 73% to $6.2 million, finishing second behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train ($6.4 million), and $2.4 million in its third weekend. In its opening international weekend, the film made $10.7 million from 17 countries, with the largest market being Russia ($6.1 million). In its second weekend the film made $5.7 million from 28 countries.
Mortal Kombat (2021)
Directed by: Simon McQuoid
Starring: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada
Screenplay by: Greg Russo, Dave Callaham
Production Design by: Naaman Marshall
Cinematography by: Germain McMicking
Film Editing by: Dan Lebental, Scott Gray
Costume Design by: Cappi Ireland
Set Decoration by: Rolland Pike
Art Direction by: Loretta Cosgrove, Darshankumar Joshi, Tom Nursey, Delphine Richon, Michael Turner
Music by: Benjamin Wallfisch
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: April 8, 2021 (International), April 23, 2021 (United States)
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