It might not get much credit these days…

But, Mortal Kombat was the OG when it came to turning a video game into a franchise, which is still a pretty dicey enterprise by the way…

Photo Credit: Legendary Pictures

Of course, even though Warcraft only made $47 million in the US, they managed to bring in over $385 million in foreign sales for a total over $433 million.

So, maybe this is a better example:

Photo Credit: Dune Films

Did you even remember that this film was released in 2008?

Hell, I only remember the game because I typed, “Marky Mark video game movie,” and Google did the rest…

Anyhow, Mortal Kombat fared much better than its video game/film adaptation brethren.

Here are several things you might not know about the film:

#1. Mortal Kombat opened big.

Photo Credit: New Line Cinema

According to Box Office Mojo, it opened at #1 on August 18, 1995, pulling in over $23 million.

It stayed at #1 for two more weeks bringing in a total domestic gross of $70,454,098.

It grossed over $122 million worldwide.

This was 21 years ago, when that was still a lot of money.

Photo Credit: Jeff Vinnick / Reuters

Just kidding. That’s still a lot of money.

Now studios spend that much money just making a film.

For example, Warcraft‘s production budget was $160 million.

And, that’s before they turn around and spend millions to market the film.

#2. It still ranks among the best in the US for video game adaptations.

And, even though it only garners a 32% critic and 58% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Mortal Kombat still ranks 5th in domestic earnings for video game adaptations some 21 years after its release.

Think about all the other video game movies that have come out since then:

Photo Credit: Movie Pilot

Now, think about the fact that only Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Angry Birds Movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and Pokémon: The First Movie have made more money in the US since Mortal Kombat came out.

And, it almost didn’t get made.

#3. Midway had to be convinced to option the film.

Photo Credit: New Line Cinema

Producer Larry Kasanoff had just worked with James Cameron adapting ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day” into a video game from the insanely popular film. Some friends of his at Midway invited him to take a look at the “Mortal Kombat” video game.

He told the Hollywood Reporter in a 2015 interview for the film’s 20th anniversary:

“I played the “Mortal Kombat” arcade game in their office for half an hour. I turned to [former Midway Games chief] Neil D. Nicastro and I said, ‘This is Star Wars meets Enter the Dragon. This is not just an arcade game. This is a whole phenomenon.’ I said, ‘If you give me the rights to this, I promise you I will produce this, not just in movies, but in every medium in the world.’ He looked at me and said, ‘You’re full of crap! It’s just an arcade game!'”