After a five-day opening that saw The Matrix Resurrections earn a paltry $22.5 million at the domestic box office, it's looking like the latest instalment of the franchise is shaping up to be a flop. Some fans have blamed that simultaneous HBO Max release, but numbers overseas haven't been much better.
Now, Deadline has shared some streaming data courtesy of Samba TV revealing that Lana Wachowski's movie was watched by 2.8 million smart TV households in the U.S. between Wednesday and Sunday. It's an okay result that means the movie ranks behind Godzilla vs. King's 3.6 million views in the same five-day period. Why the comparison? Well, that was also released in theaters (while most of us were still waiting for a vaccine) and earned $48.1 million.
There just didn't seem to be much buzz surrounding The Matrix Resurrections, though it's possible the movie will generate a little more interest as time goes by. Either way, it's hard to imagine Warner Bros. considering a sequel with numbers like these, so don't be surprised if a reboot follows a few years from now.
The trade also notes that despite underwhelming box office and streaming numbers, the fourth instalment of the franchise was the most pirated movie for the week beginning December 20. It topped the HD version of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City and camera copies of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
"A wholly unnecessary epilogue to The Matrix trilogy, Resurrections retreads old ground, delivers mediocre action, and proves itself a tough pill to swallow despite a decent enough love story that, alone, isn't enough to justify revisiting this franchise. Time for a reboot," we said in our review of the movie that earned a disappointing B- CinemaScore from moviegoers last week.
How did you decide to watch The Matrix Resurrections?