Warfare
has now landed on VOD following its glowing response from audiences in theaters. Directed by Alex Garland and Iraq War Veteran Ray Mendoza, the recent A24 movie takes a new approach to the war movie genre, depicting a real battle in Ramadi, minute-by-minute, based only on the memories of the Navy SEALs who were involved, which includes Mendoza himself. The Warfare cast features an array of established and up-and-coming stars, including Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Michael Gandolfini, Noah Centineo, Kit Connor, and Finn Bennett.
A24 now confirms that as of today, May 6, Warfare is available to rent and purchase on all major VOD platforms. The date for the movie’s 4K UHD and Blu-ray release has not yet been made public, but the latest announcement reveals that the film will arrive on physical media at some point this summer.
What This Means For Warfare
The A24 Movie’s Theatrical Performance Explained
Before co-directing Warfare, Garland directed A24’s Civil War (2024), which features Mendoza as a military/ technical advisor. That film earned generally positive reviews and was a box office success, grossing $127 million worldwide on a budget of $50 million. Warfare wasn’t able to repeat Civil War‘s success and arrives on VOD having grossed just $28 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $20 million.
Warfare, however, did beat Civil War in terms of its critical reception. As seen in the chart below, the scores from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes were far higher for the former than the latter. Warfare reviews praised the film’s technical achievements and harrowing depiction of combat, as well as the performances from the cast. This glowing reception could be a sign that the film will be a popular choice to rent and purchase on VOD, but revenue generated from these purchases is almost never made public.
|
Civil War vs. Warfare |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
тιтle |
RT Critics’ Score |
RT Popcornmeter |
Est. Budget |
Worldwide Box Office |
|
Civil War |
81% |
69% |
$50M |
$127M |
|
Warfare |
92% |
93% |
$20 |
$28M |
Our Take On Warfare’s VOD Release
Why The Alex Garland & Ray Mendoza Movie Is Worth Watching
Purely as a technical achievement, especially in terms of the sound design, Warfare is a stunning piece of movie-making. War has never quite been depicted this way on-screen before, and the fact that it was constructed purely from memories only adds to the experience, as viewers relive a seminal moment in the lives of this particular group of Navy SEALs. Warfare benefited greatly from the theatrical experience, with a big screen and big sound heightening the immersion.
Watching Warfare at home won’t match watching the movie in theaters, but the Garland and Mendoza war movie is very much worth checking out. It’s not clear what Mendoza will tackle next and if another Garland collaboration is on the horizon, but the pair evidently worked effectively together this time around, offering a unique movie experience for viewers.
Source: A24
