Mortal Kombat is an American series of martial arts action films based on the fighting video game series of the same name by Midway Games. The first film was produced by Lawrence Kasanoff’s Threshold Entertainment.
| Mortal Kombat | |
|---|---|
 Official film series logo | |
| Directed by |
|
| Based on | Mortal Kombat by Ed Boon & John Tobias |
| Produced by | |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema (1–2) |
Release dates |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Total (3 films) $103 million |
| Box office | Total (3 films) $204.2 million |
The first live-action film, Mortal Kombat, was released in 1995 and its sequel, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, was released in 1997. After the two films, game publisher Midway filed for bankruptcy. Warner Bros., having become the parent of New Line Cinema in 2008 (after over a decade of both operating as separate divisions of Time Warner), made a bid to purchase most of Midway's assets, including Mortal Kombat. In June 2009, Kasanoff and Threshold sued in bankruptcy court, arguing that they owned the copyright to many of the characters from the series.[1]
On July 1, 2009, the bankruptcy court approved the sale of most of Midway's assets to Warner Bros.[2] subject to the intellectual property claims of Threshold Entertainment.[3] After years of development hell, a reboot of the series was released in April 2021.
Films
editAnimated
edit| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins | April 11, 1995 | Joseph Francis | Kevin Droney | Alison Savitch & Lawrence Kasanoff | |
| Mortal Kombat Legends series | |||||
| Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge | April 14, 2020 | Ethan Spaulding | Jeremy Adams | Rick Morales | |
| Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms | August 31, 2021 | Jim Krieg & Rick Morales | |||
| Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind | October 11, 2022 | Rick Morales | Jim Krieg | ||
| Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match | October 17, 2023 | Ethan Spaulding | |||
| Mortal Kombat Legends: Fall of Edenia | TBA | Rick Morales | |||
Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins (1995)
editOn April 11, 1995,[4] New Line Home Video, Turner Home Entertainment and Threshold Entertainment released a tie-in animated film on VHS and Laserdisc, titled Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins. Serving as a prequel to the in-development 1995 feature film, it follows the protagonists Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade as they travel on a mysterious boat to the Mortal Kombat tournament. On the way they meet Raiden, who provides them with some hints about how to survive the tournament and defeat Shang Tsung and his army of Tarkatan minions. Upon arriving at the island where the battles takes place, Raiden retells the origins of Shang Tsung, Goro, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and the Great Kung Lao in between fight scenes.
The film featured a combination of traditional animation, motion capture, and CGI to explain the origins behind some of the movie's main characters, as well as a fifteen-minute behind-the-scenes documentary of the theatrical release. Trailers of the film were seen on the promotional screener VHS copy, and on other VHS releases from Turner Home Entertainment and New Line Home Video. The film was included on the Mortal Kombat Blu-ray released in April 2011.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)
editA direct-to-video animated film called Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge was released by Warner Bros. Animation on digital April 14, 2020, and on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on April 28. The film is directed by Ethan Spaulding and written by Jeremy Adams. The voice cast includes Patrick Seitz as Scorpion, Steve Blum as Sub-Zero, Darin De Paul as Quan Chi, Jordan Rodrigues as Liu Kang, Joel McHale as Johnny Cage, & Jennifer Carpenter as Sonya Blade. Kevin Michael Richardson also reprises his role of Goro from the 1995 live action film.[5] The film's premise centers around Scorpion seeking revenge on those who murdered his family and clan, after being resurrected by Quan Chi, while Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade are chosen to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament to save Earthrealm from Outworld.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)
editA sequel, entitled Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, with most of the cast and crew from Scorpion's Revenge, was released on August 31, 2021.[6][7]
Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)
editMortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023)
editIn an interview in October 2022, Jeremy Adams revealed that he is writing the 5th Mortal Kombat Legends film.[8] It serves as a prequel to Scorpion's Revenge.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Fall of Edenia (TBA)
editLive-action
edit| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original series | |||||
| Mortal Kombat | August 18, 1995 | Paul W. S. Anderson | Kevin Droney | Lawrence Kasanoff | |
| Mortal Kombat Annihilation | November 21, 1997 | John R. Leonetti | Bryce Zabel & Brent V. Friedman | John Tobias, Joshua Wexler & Lawrence Kasanoff | |
| Reboot series | |||||
| Mortal Kombat | April 23, 2021 | Simon McQuoid | Greg Russo & David Callaham | Greg Russo & Oren Uziel | James Wan, Todd Garner, Simon McQuoid & E. Bennett Walsh |
| Mortal Kombat 2 | October 24, 2025 | Jeremy Slater[9] | Todd Garner, James Wan, Simon McQuoid, E. Bennett Walsh & Toby Emmerich | ||
Mortal Kombat (1995)
editThree unknown martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.
Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997)
editA group of martial arts warriors have only six days to save the Earth from an extra-dimensional invasion.
Mortal Kombat (2021)
editA washed-up mixed martial arts fighter named Cole Young is unaware of his hidden lineage or why Lin Kuei 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.
Mortal Kombat 2 (2025)
editCast and crew
editRecurring cast and characters
editThis section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
- An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- A indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio.
- U indicates an uncredited appearance.
- V indicates a voice-only role.
Crew
edit| Occupation | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortal Kombat | Mortal Kombat Annihilation | Mortal Kombat | |
| Director(s) | Paul W. S. Anderson | John R. Leonetti | Simon McQuoid |
| Producer | Lawrence Kasanoff | James Wan Todd Garner Simon McQuoid E. Bennett Walsh | |
| Writer(s) | Kevin Droney | Screenplay by Bryce Zabel Brent V. Friedman Story by John Tobias Joshua Wexler Lawrence Kasanoff |
Screenplay by Greg Russo David Callaham Story by Greg Russo Oren Uziel |
| Composer | George S. Clinton | Benjamin Wallfisch | |
| Director(s) of photography | John R. Leonetti | Matthew F. Leonetti | Germain McMicking |
| Editor(s) | Martin Hunter | Peck Prior | Scott Gray Dan Lebental |
| Production company(s) | Threshold Entertainment | Atomic Monster New Line Cinema Broken Road Productions | |
| Distributor(s) | New Line Cinema | Warner Bros. Pictures | |
Reception
editBox office performance
edit| Film | U.S. release date | Box office revenue | Budget | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | International | Worldwide | ||||
| Original series | ||||||
| Mortal Kombat | August 18, 1995 | $73,000,000 | $51,741,822 | $122,195,920 | $18 million | [10] |
| Mortal Kombat Annihilation | November 21, 1997 | $35,927,406 | $15,449,455 | $51,376,861 | $30 million | [11][12] |
| Reboot series | ||||||
| Mortal Kombat | April 23, 2021 | $42,201,013 | $41,400,000 | $83,601,013 | $55 million | [13][14] |
| Total | $117,957,406 | $86,391,277 | $204,348,683 | $103 million | ||
Critical and public response
edit| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[15] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortal Kombat | 45% (44 reviews)[16] | 60 (13 reviews)[17] | A– |
| Mortal Kombat Annihilation | 4% (50 reviews)[18] | 11 (12 reviews)[19] | C+ |
| Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge | 90% (21 reviews)[20] | ||
| Mortal Kombat | 54% (292 reviews)[21] | 44 (43 reviews)[22] | B+ |
| Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms | 50% (6 reviews)[23] |
Music
edit| Title | U.S. release date | Length | Performed by | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | August 15, 1995 | 68:28 | Various Artists | TVT |
| Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Score | October 11, 1995 | 42:01 | George S. Clinton | Rykodisc |
| Mortal Kombat Annihilation: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | October 28, 1997 | 72:08 | Various Artists | TVT |
| Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | April 16, 2021 | 79:37 | Benjamin Wallfisch | WaterTower Music |
Novelizations
editA novelization of the first movie by "Martin Delrio" (James D. Macdonald and Debra Doyle) was released through Tor Books. It is based on an early version of the film's script, and as such it includes several deleted or unfilmed scenes, such as a fight between Sonya Blade and Jade.
Notes
edit- ^ Chan Kang does not appear in the video games, as he was an original character created specifically for the first live-action film.
- ^ Cole Young does not appear in the video games, as he was an original character created specifically for the 2021 live action film, named as an Anglicisation of "Kuai Liang".
References
edit- ^ Andy Chalk. "The Escapist : News : Midway Sued Over Mortal Kombat Rights". Escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
- ^ Dunca, Geoff. "Time Warner Buying Most of Midway Games for $33 Mln". Digital Trends. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ Gross, Kevin. In re: Midway Games Inc., et al., Debtors, Bankruptcy No. 09-10465; Threshold Entertainment, Inc. v. Midway Games Inc., et al., Adv. Case No. 09-51081, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware, March 29, 2011; and "Finish Him! Bankruptcy Court Dismissed Suit Over Mortal Kombat Intellectual Property Rights for Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction", Morris James, LLP, September 2, 2011
- ^ "Mortal Kombat on Video". GamePro. No. 69. IDG. April 1995. p. 24.
- ^ Mortal Kombat Animated Movie in the Works With Joel McHale, Jennifer Carpenter - IGN, January 17, 2020, retrieved June 12, 2020
- ^ "Mortal Kombat (Reboot) - WGA Directory". findawriter.wgaeast.org. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms Release Date, Box Art Revealed". GAMING. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
- ^ "Interview with Jeremy Adams | Interviers S01E01". YouTube.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 26, 2022). "New Line Moving Forward With 'Mortal Kombat' Sequel; 'Moon Knight' Scribe Jeremy Slater Scripting". Deadline. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)". The Numbers. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
- ^ Lang, Brett (April 24, 2021). "'Mortal Kombat,' 'Demon Slayer' Locked in Fierce Box Office Battle". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat reviews". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat (2021) Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
