and fighting sequences, but criticized the plot, dialogue, and acting. It fared better with audiences and fans of the video games, and scored a high A− on a CinemaScore poll. As a result, it spent three weeks as the highest-grossing film at the US box office, and earned over $122 million worldwide, produced on a budget of $18 million. It proved a major success for Anderson, and has been recognised one of the first financially successful film adaptations of a video game. Anderson and most cast members, including Lambert, declined to return for the sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, which, when released, was critically panned and underperformed at the box office. Event Horizon, Soldier and The Sight The success of Mortal Kombat gave Anderson free rein to choose his next project, the science fiction action film Soldier, written by Blade Runner screenwriter David Peoples. Peoples' script—and eventually the film itself—contains references to his work on Blade Runner, and can be considered to be taking place in the same universe, as a sidequel or standalone sequel of sorts. Kurt Russell became attached to star, but decided to take some time off to build up his body, as required by the role, which delayed the production. In the meantime, Anderson directed the 1997 science fiction horror film Event Horizon, written by Philip Eisner and starring Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill. Despite praise for its visuals and production design, it was not well received by critics or audiences (D+ on a Cinemascore poll), and failed to break even, which Anderson blamed on a tight post-production schedule and studio-enforced cuts. It later sold well on home video and gained a small cult following. Plans to complete a director's cut restoring the deleted footage were abandoned when it was discovered that most of it had been lost or degraded. Soldier was eventually completed and released in 1998, but was a critical and commercial disaster, making less than $15 million in the US, on a budget of $60 million, and releasing straight-to-video in several other markets. Anderson has expressed his regret that the planned location shoots had to be changed to studio soundstages due to the El Niño hurricane, which ended up compromising the film's look. He also verbalized his disappointment with Warner Bros., whom he believes tried to market the film to the same male teen audience as Mortal Kombat, rather than to grown-up audiences, including