Box Office: ‘Mortal Kombat’ Pulls Ahead of Surprisingly Strong ‘Demon Slayer’

For the first time since the pandemic struck, not one, but two movies brought in notable ticket sales at the domestic box office.

It’s the clearest indication yet that people appear ready to return to the movies after nearly a year of staying home to stream.“Mortal Kombat,” a martial arts-inspired adaptation of the popular video game, led U.S.

box office charts, taking in a robust $22.5 million from 3,073 North American venues.

The Warner Bros.

movie is already available to watch at home, on the streaming service HBO Max, for a month — a strategy the studio is deploying for its entire 2021 slate.Though the R-rated “Mortal Kombat” easily cinched first place, it had more competition than it may have expected heading into the weekend.

In a not-so-distant second, “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” earned a solid $15.9 million from 1,598 locations.

That number is slightly below estimations that suggested the movie could reach $19.5 million over the weekend,

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