Why Matrix Resurrections’ Box Office Is Even Worse Than The Hated Sequels’

The Matrix Resurrections has bombed at the box office, making far less money than either of the hated prior sequels did – why? The newest film from director Lana Wachowski takes audiences back to the world of The Matrix, which enraptured audiences in 1999 with its dazzling visual effects, carefully-constructed action sequences, and a mind-bending plot that brings up questions pertaining to free will, destiny, and spirituality. The franchise returned in 2003 with the back-to-back sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, which both disappointed critics and audiences to varying degrees. The trilogy stood as a completed work for nearly twenty years before Wachowski and stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss returned, updating the series with new tools of the new decade.

While audiences expressed excitement for the latest movie, upon its hybrid-release in theaters and on HBO Max, The Matrix Resurrections faced dismal box office numbers. As of January 5, the movie has earned $106.8 million worldwide, and just $32.2 million in the United States and Canada. While revenue will likely get a boost when The Matrix Resurrections releases in China next week, it is becoming more and more likely that The Matrix Resurrections will be the first in the series to not make back its production budget. Even though The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were reviled by both audiences and critics upon release, both movies made hundreds of millions of dollars in profit at the box office.

Why did The Matrix Resurrections bomb so much worse? Matrix Resurrections‘ disappointing failure may fall on several factors. For one, the coronavirus pandemic continues, with cases surging right as the movie released into the holiday season. Even though Spider-Man: No Way Home has shown that movies can still do record box office numbers during virus season, Warner Bros.’ decision to simultaneously release The Matrix Resurrections on HBO Max gives viewers the option to watch the movie from the safety and comfort of their own homes, and many of them have chosen to do just that, disrupting the movie’s theatrical performance in the process.

Another problem – and one that The Matrix Resurrections attempts to reconcile within its own plot – is that there simply has not been an appetite for another Matrix movie. The latest movie makes crystal clear that Warner Bros. forced a franchise sequel, but the audiences have not shown that same eagerness for another Matrix. It is likely that many fans of The Matrix were willing to give Lana Wachowski the benefit of the doubt, especially given her track record as an exacting and visionary storyteller. Yet, the aesthetics of the series have aged out of the zeitgeist, and memory of the series is marred by the controversial sequels that left a bad taste in audience’s mouths for almost two decades.

While The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions have (to an extent) been rehabilitated by time, the series is simply too old to be culturally relevant today – a fact that Wachowski, Reeves, and Moss seem well-aware of. The Matrix Resurrections bombed due to its hybrid release, as well as a lack of interest on the audiences’ part. There is money being lost on legacy sequels at the box office that, as The Matrix Resurrections has shown, can’t be saved with self-aware meta-irony.

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