The Matrix

Home Gallery

About

The Matrix is an American cyberpunk media franchise consisting of four feature films, beginning with The Matrix (1999) and continuing with three sequels, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions (both 2003), and The Matrix Resurrections (2021).

The first three films were written and directed by the Wachowskis and produced by Joel Silver. The screenplay for the fourth film was written by David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, was directed by Lana Wachowski, and was produced by Grant Hill, James McTeigue, and Lana Wachowski. The franchise is owned by Warner Bros., which distributed the films along with Village Roadshow Pictures. The latter, along with Silver Pictures, are the two production companies that worked on the first three films.

---

Filming

All but a few scenes were filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney, as well as in the city itself, although recognizable landmarks were not included in order to maintain the impression of a generic American city. The filming helped establish New South Wales as a major film production center. Filming began in March 1998 and wrapped in August 1998; principal photography took 118 days.

Due to Reeves's neck injury, some of the action scenes had to be rescheduled to wait for his full recovery. As a result, the filming began with scenes that did not require much physical exertion, such as the scene in Thomas Anderson's office, the interrogation room, or the car ride in which Neo is taken to see the Oracle. Locations for these scenes included Martin Place's fountain in Sydney, half-way between it and the adjacent Colonial Building, and the Colonial Building itself. During the scene set on a government building rooftop, the team filmed extra footage of Neo dodging bullets in case the bullet time process did not work. The bullet-time fight scene was filmed on the roof of Symantec Corporation building in Kent Street, opposite Sussex Street.

---

Audience Viewership

When The Matrix opened in North America on March 31, 1999, the visionary sci-fi/action film written and directed by The Wachowskis became an instant box office smash and pop-culture phenomenon — spawning a slew of parodies/homages/imitators, burnishing the career of star Keanu Reeves and anointing its creators as Hollywood powerhouses nearly overnight.

Now, more than 22 years after the release of the generation-defining classic, Lana Wachowski has returned (sans her sister Lilly) with The Matrix Resurrections, the fourth film in the long-dormant series which is slated for release in theaters and on HBO Max December 22. Whether Resurrections can recapture the zeitgeist remains an open question — but with the film’s impending release, we decided to take a look back at the box office history of the game-changing franchise whose shockwaves continue to reverberate well into the 21st century.