Mortal Kombat II Is The Biggest Box Office Wild Card Of 2026

The 2026 summer movie season is just around the corner. May brings with it the biggest moviegoing portion of the year, and that kicks off with "The Devil Wears Prada 2," which reunites Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. But Warner Bros. is hot on that movie's tail with the impending release of "Mortal Kombat II." The question is, can this sequel outshine its predecessor? Or is it destined to fall short of lofty expectations? It's a wild card. A toss-up. But the tower is starting to lean in one direction, to be certain.

"Mortal Kombat II" is currently expected to take in anywhere between $40 and $50 million domestically when it opens next weekend, per Box Office Theory. That would be a marked improvement over the first "Mortal Kombat," which opened to $23 million at the box office but was then kneecapped by "Demon Slayer" in weekend number two. We're also talking about a franchise with a global fanbase, meaning that the domestic number is just a slice of the pie. This movie has strong international prospects as well.

Based on the beloved video game franchise of the same name, this serves as a sequel to the 2021 movie, which was greatly hampered by the pandemic. Simon McQuoid returns to the director's chair for what promises to be a bigger, bloodier affair. The new movie is led by Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), who gets roped into the no-holds-barred, gory battle to defeat Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), who threatens the existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.

Thus far, critics have been united in their reactions to "Mortal Kombat II," roundly praising it as an improvement upon what came before. If fans agree, Warner Bros. could very well be onto something here.

The problem is that this movie has far too many question marks attached to be able to call an over/under $50 million opening an out-and-out win. For one, the budget for "Mortal Kombat II" has yet to be revealed, but it's estimated at $68 million (per The Numbers). The first movie cost $55 million and grossed just $84 million worldwide. So, why make a sequel at all?

"Mortal Kombat" was caught up in Warner Bros.' decision to premiere its entire 2021 movie slate on HBO Max and in theaters on the same day. That greatly hampered its box office potential. But fans flocked to the movie. Case in point: it was the most-streamed movie to premiere on HBO Max in 2021 (per Business Insider), ahead of titles like "Dune" and "The Suicide Squad."

The problem? Many viewed "Mortal Kombat" as an underwhelming video game adaptation, one that never even got to an actual tournament of fighters from across the realms. Will audiences happily turn up in theaters for a movie many of them watched at home nearly five years ago? Can WB effectively sell the follow-up as a big enough improvement to demand a big-screen release? There are a lot of unknowns here.

Let's also not forget that we're headed into summer. In the weeks ahead, we have "The Mandalorian and Grogu," "Backrooms," "Masters of the Universe," "Disclosure Day," and "Toy Story 5." That's just through mid-June. The competition is going to get very stiff in a hurry.

All the while, Warner Bros. seems to have tremendous confidence in the movie Simon McQuoid and writer Jeremy Slater have delivered. "Mortal Kombat II" was delayed to 2026 from its original October 2025 release, not because the movie wasn't ready or because the studio was worried. On the contrary, they believed it was worthy of being a summer blockbuster. So they turned it into one.

Not only that, but WB commissioned Slater to write "Mortal Kombat 3" in October of last year, and it's well underway. The studio believes this movie will be successful, and they don't want another five-year gap between installments. Belief is one thing, delivering results is another.

But there's reason to be optimistic. "Dune" made $402 million at the box office in 2021, hampered by the HBO Max of it all, but "Dune: Part Two" made $715 million. If all goes well, "MK2" could see a similar jump in ticket sales. If it arrives right in line with expectations, "Final Destination Bloodlines" ($51 million opening/$318 million worldwide) could be a friendly comp. If it overperforms? Numbers closer to "Gladiator II" ($55 million opening/$462 million worldwide) aren't completely out of the realm of possibility.

In an era where "Deadpool & Wolverine" can become the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, this movie's R-rating isn't a hindrance. If anything, it more closely aligns with fan expectations. If this movie does right by this franchise's many, many fans, good things can happen.

"Mortal Kombat II" hits theaters on May 8, 2026.