The calendar has flipped to May, which means the summer movie season is underway. After The Devil Wears Prada 2 kicked things off with an impressive opening of $76.7 million domestically, video game adaptation Mortal Kombat II is gearing up for its premiere this weekend. Originally scheduled to come out last fall, Warner Bros. moved the sequel to this year as a way to add some juice to its 2026 film slate (a direct result of Superman being so successful last summer). Shifting Mortal Kombat II‘s release to such a busy month meant the studio felt it could be a sizable draw, and it looks like that could be the case.
According to Variety, Mortal Kombat II is projected to gross somewhere between $40-45 million domestically during its opening weekend. The high end of those estimates would eclipse the domestic total of 2021’s Mortal Kombat ($42.3 million). Of course, it’s important to keep in mind the first Mortal Kombat debuted during the pandemic and was a day-and-date release on HBO Max, which obviously had an impact on its box office numbers.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen everything from Sinners to Weapons to The Conjuring: Last Rights and Project Hail Mary exceed early estimates, highlighting how box office tracking isn’t an exact science. If the circumstances are just right, any movie can fare better than expected. One factor that plays a key role there is word of mouth, and Mortal Kombat II appears to be well-covered on that front. As of this writing, it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 73% (based on 84 reviews), indicating opinions are generally positive. If general audiences feel the film is worth seeing on the big screen, they’ll make plans to check it out.
Mortal Kombat II has a few other things that could work in its favor. It’s been a while since there was a big live-action genre film designed to be seen in theaters. The last title to truly fit that mold was Project Hail Mary, which came out in late March. So, there could be an appetite to see some new genuine spectacle on the big screen. Additionally, Mortal Kombat II is shaping up to be an exciting release for fans of the popular gaming franchise; Karl Urban has joined the cast as the legendary Johnny Cage, and the premise of a fighting tournament is something pulled straight from the source material. When combined with positive reviews, Mortal Kombat II could have a strong opening weekend. Some people believe its debut could push closer to $50 million.
All that said, it’s not as if Mortal Kombat II has a clear runway as it opens. It will have to contend with holdover The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is expected to hold very well in its second weekend. The two films are going to be in a close race for the top spot. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is projected to gross between $38-42 million, so there’s a scenario where it could beat Mortal Kombat II. These movies clearly have very different target audiences, so the winner will be decided by which one general viewers come out to support more. If The Devil Wears Prada 2 gets an edge there, then Mortal Kombat II may not surpass its expectations.
Even if it loses out to The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mortal Kombat II is poised for a strong start. Worldwide, it’s estimated to earn between $70-80 million, meaning it could earn back its entire production budget (reportedly $80 million) in just one weekend. While that budget figure doesn’t also include marketing and distribution costs, Mortal Kombat II would be well on its way to turning a profit, meaning Warner Bros. was smart to already start work on Mortal Kombat 3.
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