Mortal Kombat II Is Just Days Away From Obliterating A 31-Year Franchise Record

Warner Bros. has had plenty of confidence in Mortal Kombat II for a long time. The studio pushed the video game movie sequel from a fall 2025 release to a crowded summer 2026 kickoff. Development on Mortal Kombat III even began last year. But whether the belief in the action sci-fi franchise was well-placed or not remained to be seen. The studio’s faith is paying off with record-breaking results.

It started before the movie hit theaters, as Mortal Kombat II scored the franchise’s highest critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes; it is the first one to be “Fresh” with a 65% score. Once paying audiences got a chance to see it, the response broke another record with an 88% on the Popcornmeter. The strong reception has contributed to box office success, too.

The R-rated video game movie sequel launched to a franchise-high $38 million domestically. After two weekends in theaters, Mortal Kombat II has already eclipsed the $100 million milestone and surpassed the total haul of the 2021 reboot. Even with a notable second weekend drop, the movie is still poised to reach more audiences for weeks to come.

This will include it becoming the highest-grossing Mortal Kombat movie overall. As of this writing, Mortal Kombat II is only $21 million away from surpassing the 1995 original’s box office total unadjusted for inflation. Based on its current trajectory, that record will be destroyed sometime this week.

Why Mortal Kombat II Will Break The Franchise’s Highest-Grossing Movie So Fast

The soon-to-be highest-grossing Mortal Kombat movie has many factors that contribute to its approaching record. The biggest is the lower bar that the previous movies set for it. Despite how popular the video games have been for years, the franchise has never really found that much success at the box office.

1995’s Mortal Kombat holds the franchise record with a $122.1 million worldwide haul; $70.4 million domestically and $51.7 million internationally. (To note, the domestic total would be $161.8 million adjusted for inflation.) Mortal Kombat II is having no trouble getting close to the original’s global total, as it should surpass that figure within its first two weeks of release.

*released during the COVID-19 pandemic

It helps that Mortal Kombat II has been so warmly received by audiences. Considering how divisive/disappointing this franchise has been at times before, this sequel having a similar reception would have severely hurt its legs at the box office. But with record RT scores across the board, Mortal Kombat fans finally have a movie worthy of experiencing on the big screen.

How Much Will Mortal Kombat II Make At The Box Office Overall?

Mortal Kombat II breaking the franchise’s box office record is inevitable at this point, so the question is just how much better it will do than the rest of the video game adaptations. So far, the film has been a bigger hit domestically than internationally (its opening weekend figures internationally were much lower than projected), although its opening in Japan, slated for June 5, could provide a real pop.

Even after this record-setting start, interest could cool quickly. Mortal Kombat II‘s box office dropped about 65% from its first to second weekends, showing a front-loaded nature to its response from fans eager to avoid spoilers. It’ll need strong repeat business in the weeks to come, which could prove challenging with increased competition.

While not directly competing for the same demographics, The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives this week to become the premiere summer blockbuster. Masters of the Universe‘s release on June 5 could steal more of Mortal Kombat II‘s audience, too. The movie has found success in the easiest part of its schedule, but what comes next will truly determine how big of a hit it becomes.

Since it carries a reported $80 million budget, traditional Hollywood box office math says Mortal Kombat II needs to make $200 million to be a success. That may be too lofty a total for the franchise unless it proves to have stronger legs and picks up more international interest.

Mortal Kombat II is more likely to finish its run making between $150 million and $180 million. That might be lower than some would’ve liked, but it’ll still be more than enough to become the highest-grossing movie in franchise history.

Release Date

May 8, 2026

Runtime

116 Minutes

Director

Simon McQuoid

Writers

Jeremy Slater

Producers

E. Bennett Walsh, James Wan, Simon McQuoid, Toby Emmerich, Todd Garner