Mortal Kombat, the outlandishly bloody video game adaptation distributed by Warner Bros., was this weekend’s domestic box office champion with $22.5 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That a movie based on a 30-year-old intellectual property with fervent fans should do well is hardly surprising, and the reviews, while only 55 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, still place it in the higher tier for “video game movies.” The bigger story, however, is what got the silver medal.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train is now the new champion for best debut of a foreign language motion picture, with $19.5 million. While the animated film is the top grosser in its home country of Japan with $361 million, and boasts a whopping global total of $440 million, this weekend’s second place domestic ranking is further evidence that there is a substantial market for anime in North America.
The action-heavy picture, directed by Haruo Sotozaki, is actually a bridge between a first and second Demon Slayer anime series. What’s even more interesting is that reviews in Variety, Indiewire, and Forbes all warn that the movie will be fundamentally baffling to newcomers, and that this theatrical release is really for those who have already invested time with the characters. (As comparison, Mortal Kombat, which was simultaneously released on HBO Max, still works for total noobs.)
Variety‘s Peter Debruge also noted that the film “looks even more rudimentary than its small-screen counterpart” and the “downgrade in quality may come as a surprise to those expecting slicker visuals from the theatrical blockbuster.”
Nevertheless, a quick look at social media shows that fans of the series had a blast, and many took the opportunity to get dressed up and go to the movies. If that isn’t a reason the celebrate then nothing is.
This one isn’t cosplay, but it’s still nice!
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